Yang Kai smoothly returned to Blue Sky Pass through the Hyper Space Array.
When he looked up, he saw Zhong Liang waiting for him.
Yang Kai quickly bowed in response.
Zhong Liang raised his hand as he stated with a smile, “Well done, it’s been hard on you these past few years.”
Yang Kai was stunned for a moment, but he quickly realized that Zhong Liang must have been informed of everything he had done at Yin-Yang Pass.
It needed a massive amount of resources to travel between Great Passes; after all, each Great Pass was quite far from its neighbours, but if it was just passing on some information, it didn’t cost much. The Purifying Black Ink Pill’s recipe and the refining method of the Void Yin-Yang Mirrors were all transmitted to other Great Passes from Blue Sky Pass in the form of jade slips.
Yang Kai was considered a member of Blue-Sky Pass, but because of the Purification Light, too many things were involved. If it weren’t for the fact that the Black Ink Clan’s plan to refine the Warships was too great a threat to the Human Race, how could Blue Sky Pass be willing to put Yang Kai in danger? When he went to the Yin-Yang Theatre, Blue Sky Pass naturally paid attention to his movements.
Almost every month, Blue Sky Pass would send a message to Yin-Yang Pass, inquiring about the situation. Naturally, if there was anything to report, it was reported to them without concealment.
While Yang Kai was hiding in the Black Ink Clan’s territory, Yin-Yang Pass hadn’t received any news from him either, which made Blue-Sky Pass quite anxious.
When Yang Kai finally showed up, the Black Ink Clan Army was besieging the Great Pass, and Yang Kai needed to assist Yin-Yang Pass’s Old Ancestor in healing her injuries. After driving back the Black Ink Clan Army, Yang Kai needed to remain there to open the portals to the Universe Paradises, Universe Cave Heavens, and Sealed Worlds.
Zhong Liang and the others even suspected that Yin-Yang Pass wanted to forcibly retain Yang Kai; that they had no intention of returning him!
To be honest, if Yang Kai hadn’t returned to Blue Sky Pass soon, Zhong Liang would have personally gone to Yin-Yang Pass and looked for Tang Qiu and the others.
Fortunately, Yang Kai had returned, which finally put Zhong Liang at ease.
Regarding Yang Kai’s deeds in the Yin-Yang Theatre, Zhong Liang was not stingy with his praise. He immediately told him that since he had returned, he should rest well and work hard to improve his cultivation.
Yang Kai naturally agreed.
Zhong Liang left happily while Yang Kai returned to his residence alone.
Sensing the movement of the restriction, Feng Ying and Bai Yi, who were cultivating, came out to investigate. When they saw that Yang Kai had returned, the two women were overjoyed.
This place was originally Feng Ying’s residence, but because it was a courtyard with extra rooms, Yang Kai had always lived here. Later, Bai Yi also joined them after Yang Kai had rescued her. After all, they were all members of the same Squad, so it would be easier for them to convene in times of war.
After not seeing each other for over a decade, their auras had clearly become stronger.
In fact, it wasn’t just them, but everyone in Blue-Sky Pass had improved after such a long period of rest.
Before Yang Kai’s arrival, there was always a shortage of cultivation resources regardless of which Great Pass it was. So, the distribution and use of each and every material had to be carefully calculated. However, ever since Yang Kai brought out the Void Yin-Yang Mirrors, resources were no longer a problem, especially in Blue Sky Pass. The amount of resources stored in the War Materials Palace now could be said to be as vast as the mountains and seas, enough for the soldiers in the Great Pass to cultivate for thousands of years.
So, their cultivation was bound to improve with the availability of abundant resources and the lack of any threats. Moreover, Yang Kai had opened many Sealed Worlds, acquiring many Profound Yin Spirit Fruits and fruit trees. Many people in Blue Sky Pass had repaired their damaged Small Universes and recovered their original cultivations.
It could be said that the strength of those in Blue-Sky Pass had greatly improved compared to before.
On the other hand, the Black Ink Clan was currently recuperating after the struggle for resources had concluded with the Human Race’s victory. There wouldn’t be any more battles anytime soon.
It could be said that the soldiers of Blue-Sky Pass were enjoying the most leisurely time. Every cultivator cherished this moment because no one could guarantee that they would be able to make it to the next time they could enjoy such leisure.
After chatting with Feng Ying and Bai Yi for a while, Yang Kai returned to his room and went into retreat.
From the Seventh Order to the Eighth Order was an extremely long process of accumulation; however, the flow of time in Yang Kai’s Small Universe was different from that of the outside world. Furthermore, the living beings inside his Small Universe were constantly improving his heritage, and the World Tree clone was able to purify and strengthen his World Force.
Be that as it may, the main way to increase one’s cultivation was still the boring and monotonous routine of refining resources.
Yang Kai didn’t lack supplies. His Small Universe already had enough cultivation resources stored in it to break through to the Eighth Order, and adding the looting he had done in the hinterlands of the Black Ink Clan, he now had an almost inexhaustible supply of materials.
Originally, he wanted to donate some resources to Blue Sky Pass, but now that Blue Sky Pass didn’t lack resources, he gave up on this notion.
Day after day, year after year…
Yang Kai’s cultivation slowly and steadily increased as a large number of resources were consumed.
However, unlike others, Yang Kai couldn’t cultivate in seclusion for extremely long periods of time. It wasn’t that he was restless or anything, but some Eighth-Order Open Heaven Realm Masters from other Great Passes would visit him from time to time, bringing Purifying Black Ink Battleships and requesting him to replenish their stock of Purification Light.
Purification Light consumed resources to cast, and the more Black Ink Strength it purified, the faster it would be consumed.
Yang Kai was the only one who could replenish the Purification Light; as such, once the Purification Light sealed in a Purifying Black Ink Battleship had been exhausted, it had to be sent to Blue Sky Pass.
This matter couldn’t be handled by others, so basically every time he went into retreat, it would not last for too long. At best, Yang Kai would be interrupted once a year, but there were times when he had to take action every other month or so.
Replenishing Purification Light was as easy as lifting a finger for Yang Kai. At most, it would consume some Yellow and Blue Crystals; however, the rapid consumption of the Purification Light was also a testament to the intensity of the battle at the various Great Passes, causing his heart to inevitably sink.
The Black Ink Clan was like moss, unkillable no matter how many you cut them down. Even if they were defeated and driven back, it wouldn’t be long before they returned.
Fortunately, with the large-scale refining and promotion of Purifying Black Ink Pills, the frequency at which Yang Kai had to replenish Purification Light became much lower.
The Purifying Black Ink Pill recipe was an inheritance left behind by an ancient Alchemist. It was incomplete though, so Zhu Ge Ming and Zhou Fang, two Alchemy Great Grandmasters, had derived its complete formula after many experiments. It was an effective method to deal with the corrosion of Black Ink Strength.
Many of the materials used to refine Purifying Black Ink Pills had disappeared from the 3,000 Worlds, but they could still be found in the many Sealed Worlds scattered across the Black Ink Battlefield. Currently, every Great Pass was cultivating large quantities of these Spirit Herbs in their own medicine gardens.
After many years of effort, their hard work had finally borne fruit.
This was especially true for Yang Kai’s Small Universe’s medicine garden, which was cultivating those Spirit Herbs in large quantities. After all, his Small Universe’s time flow was different from the outside world. He had a unique advantage when it came to cultivating herbs; he could grow them faster. He had planted many Profound Yin Fruit Trees in his medicine garden when he was exploring the Sealed Worlds.
And as the medicine garden was under the care of the two Wood Spirits, whether it was the herbs or the fruit trees, they were all growing quite well.
Yang Kai had already given the first batch of mature herbs to Blue Sky Pass. The Alchemists inside the Pass had naturally used these herbs to refine Purifying Black Ink Pills and distributed them to the soldiers.
During these years of retreat, Yang Kai had also made some arrangements in his Small Universe.
It had been a few years since his Small Universe had integrated with the World Tree clone. The feedback of the clone had enveloped the entire Small Universe by now, so the Humans living inside it had also begun to benefit from it.
The most obvious example was Miao Fei Ping.
Miao Fei Ping’s original aptitude wasn’t bad. When he had participated in Seven Stars Sect’s Disciples Recruitment with Zhao Ya and Zhao Ye Bai, he had received a ranking second only to Zhao Ya. His cultivation had been smooth sailing over the years, resulting in him advancing to the Emperor Realm.
According to Yang Kai’s investigation when Miao Fei Ping had reached the Emperor Realm, the latter had the qualifications to advance directly to the Fifth-Order Open Heaven Realm.
However, because of the World Tree clone’s nourishment, he now had a chance to advance to the Sixth Order!
Since even Miao Fei Ping was affected, the new generation of children would naturally be able to receive even more benefits from the World Tree clone. This was also the reason why the various Sects had recently taken in many good seedlings.
Moreover, this kind of feedback would only become stronger until it reached its peak. After a certain number of generations, perhaps cultivation geniuses would be seen just about everywhere.
When Yang Kai left the Star Boundary, it had already become the ultimate Open Heaven Realm cradle.
The change in the Star Boundary was also due to a World Tree clone’s feedback. Since the Star Boundary could become the cradle for the Open Heaven Realm, Yang Kai believed that his Small Universe could achieve the same. Although his Small Universe’s population was not nearly as high as the Star Boundary’s, it wasn’t small either.
Be that as it may, if he wanted to develop the potential of these prodigies, he would need to spend some effort.
As such, he used his power to create a phenomenon in his Small Universe.
One day, under the witness of all the living beings in the Small Universe, a giant palace suddenly appeared in the sky. No matter where one was, they could clearly see this palace which had appeared out of thin air.
The palace was surrounded by a dazzling halo of light which attracted everyone’s attention as soon as it manifested.
The Emperor Realm Masters of the various great Sects immediately became extremely interested in this palace that had appeared out of nowhere and all of them flew straight towards it to investigate.
Nonetheless, no matter what the Order these Emperor Realm Masters were in, no matter how hard they tried, they were unable to reach the palace. It was as if the palace was right in front of them, but also very far away.
Only one person succeeded!
It was none other than Seven Stars Sect’s Miao Fei Ping.
Under everyone’s stunned gazes, Miao Fei Ping successfully arrived at the palace.
All of the Emperor Realm Masters were greatly shocked at the sight of this. They were unable to understand why they couldn’t approach this palace, but Miao Fei Ping could.
Many of the higher-ups of the various Sects gathered around Shang Guan Ji to ask about this matter, but Shang Guan Ji was just as confused as they were.
After the time it takes for half an incense stick to burn, Miao Fei Ping flew down from the palace.
The Emperor Realm Masters quickly surrounded him to inquire about the situation after seeing him return.
Miao Fei Ping’s expression became solemn as he pondered for a moment before quenching their curiosity, “This place is called the Void Dao Temple, and it is bestowed by the World itself, not created by man.”
“Void Dao Temple!”
The crowd of Emperor Realm Masters were all extremely sceptical, wondering if this was all a ploy by the Seven Stars Sect. Otherwise, how could they explain that Miao Fei Ping was the only one who could reach the palace? Seven Stars Sect was the strongest Sect in this World, and it also had an elusive and mysterious Ancestor supporting it. Perhaps this Void Dao Temple was just a gimmick for them to dominate the whole Void World?
“What is inside this Dao Temple?” Someone asked.
Miao Fei Ping replied, “The Void Dao Temple contains the essence of the 3,000 Grand Daos, the ultimate truth of the Martial Dao, and the mysteries above the Emperor Realm!”
The Emperor Realm Masters gasped a breath of cold air in shock, many even had their eyes brightly lit up.
3,000 Grand Daos, the ultimate truth of the Martial Dao, and the mysteries above the Emperor Realm, this was far too attractive for the residents of Void World.
There was no cultivator who didn’t yearn for a higher Martial Dao, especially the Emperor Realm Masters.
They had been stuck in this Realm for many years. Had this been the end of the Martial Dao, then it would not have mattered, but the crux of the issue was that they could feel that the Emperor Realm was not the peak of the Martial Dao. There were even more profound Realms ahead, but they had no idea how to break through to those Realms.
There were rumours that the Ancestor of Seven Stars Sect had a cultivation that surpassed the Emperor Realm, but he was quite elusive; even the higher-ups of Seven Stars Sect couldn’t easily meet him, let alone outsiders like them.
Now that the Void Dao Temple bestowed by the World had appeared out of thin air, containing the mysteries of what lay beyond the Emperor Realm, how could these Emperor Realm Masters not be tempted?
Be that as it may, they had all tried to approach it before, but no matter how hard they tried, they were unable to reach it, except for Miao Fei Ping.
“Elder Miao, what must we do to ascend to the Void Dao Temple?” An Emperor Realm Master from another Sect humbly asked.
Miao Fei Ping replied, “Aptitude, only those with outstanding aptitude can reach the Void Dao Temple. It has nothing to do with cultivation.”
Immediately, someone indignantly asked, “Does Elder Miao mean that your aptitude is better than everyone else here?”
These words were undoubtedly quite revolting to everyone present; after all, everyone standing here was an Emperor Realm Master. Furthermore, all of them were extremely confident in their own aptitude. However, if they were to admit that admittance to the Void Dao Temple was based solely on aptitude, it would mean admitting that Miao Fei Ping’s aptitude was far better than theirs.
Shang Guan Ji glanced over at the Emperor Realm Master who had just spoken and replied, “Elder Miao is a member of our Seven Stars Sect and reached the Emperor Realm before turning 100. With such aptitude, who can compare to him?”
His words immediately made the questioning Emperor turn silent. A 100-year-old Emperor Realm Master was truly unprecedented. Such cultivation speed was far better than any of the other Emperor Realm Masters present.
Another person asked curiously, “Elder Miao, how do you know all this?”
One had to know that Miao Fei Ping had only been in that hall for the time it takes for half an incense to burn, so how could he have obtained so much information?
Miao Fei Ping cupped his fist slightly, “This untalented Miao has been acknowledged by the Void Dao Temple. From today onward, I will be the first Temple Master of the Void Dao Temple, that is why I have obtained some information about this Void Dao Temple.”
As soon as these words left his mouth, the entire audience fell silent. All of the Emperor Realm Masters stared at him blankly. Even Shang Guan Ji and the others from the Seven Stars Sect were shocked.
A palace had appeared out of nowhere; then, Miao Fei Ping declared that it was the Void Dao Temple and was bestowed by the World itself and contained the 3,000 Grand Daos, the highest truths of the Martial Dao, and the mysteries above the Emperor Realm. Now, he even proclaimed that he had obtained the recognition of the Void Dao Temple and had become its first Temple Master?
This revelation was really shocking, so shocking that the Emperor Realm Masters couldn’t immediately respond.
After a long silence, one of the Sect Masters let out a hollow laugh, “Elder Miao, you said you’re the first Temple Master. May I ask Elder Miao what the Temple Master’s job is?”
Miao Fei Ping pondered for a moment before replying, “The purpose of the Void Dao Temple is to teach the 3,000 Grand Daos. As the Temple Master, I am responsible for guiding the Dao Temple’s disciples’ cultivation.”
“And where will these disciples come from?”
“As long as one’s aptitude is sufficiently high, anyone can enter the Dao Temple to cultivate, regardless of their cultivation. Even a child who has never cultivated before may gain entrance if their aptitude is sufficient!” While speaking, Miao Fei Ping cupped his fist, “Sect Masters, Elders, if you have any disciples with outstanding aptitude in mind, please send them to the Dao Temple. If they can pass the test of the Dao Temple, they may enter and comprehend the mysteries of the Grand Dao.”
The Emperor Realm Sect Masters and Elders all looked at each other in dismay upon hearing this. Finally, one of the Sect Masters sneered, “In that case, this humble one understands. Void Dao Temple… hah, I’ll take my leave now!”
Saying so, he turned and left, followed by the Emperor Realm Elders under him.
With someone taking the lead, the others quickly left as well.
Some even sneered before leaving, “Brother Shang Guan, if Seven Stars Sect wants to take in all the geniuses in the World, there’s no need to use such a clumsy method. This Void World is not that small, and a single Seven Stars Sect cannot swallow it all. Brother Shang Guan, please take care of yourself!”
Shang Guan Ji slightly furrowed his brow but didn’t try to explain.
Right now, he also had no idea what this was all about. He vaguely felt that this Void Dao Temple was related to the Ancestor, but it was not appropriate to ask with so many people around.
The Sects that left first were all top Sects in Void World. These Sects were not weak, so they naturally regarded the strongest, Seven Stars Sect, as their competitor, hoping that one day their Sect’s strength would surpass them and become the overlord of Void World.
After listening to Miao Fei Ping’s explanation, everyone thought that this Void Dao Temple was created by the Seven Stars Sect to attract talents from all over the world. If they let all the good seedlings be taken away by the Seven Stars Sect, they would not have any successors. Perhaps Seven Stars Sect would really be able to dominate Void World in less than 100 years if they could accomplish this plot.
Since the Emperor Realm Masters of the top Sects had taken their leaves, the small and intermediate Sects didn’t stay any longer and quickly took their leave as well.
When only the higher-ups of the Seven Stars Sect remained, Guan Qian Xing finally spoke, “Fei Ping, this Void Dao Temple…”
Shang Guan Ji immediately interrupted him, “Let us return first.”
Guan Qian Xing understood that Shang Guan Ji stopped him because he was afraid that someone was trying to spy on them, so he didn’t ask any further.
After everyone had returned to Seven Stars Sect, Shang Guan Ji finally asked Miao Fei Ping, “Is what you said about the Void Dao Temple true?”
Miao Fei Ping earnestly nodded his affirmation, “It’s true. I did not speak a single lie to those people.”
A solemn look took over Shang Guan Ji’s face, “Is this related to the Ancestor?”
“En, it is indeed related to the Ancestor. It was also Ancestor who appointed me as the Temple Master.”
As soon as these words came out, all Seven Stars Sect Emperor Realm Masters were thrilled. Since it was the Ancestor’s handiwork, there was no need to doubt or worry. Previously, Shang Guan Ji had also suspected that the Void Dao Temple was created by the Ancestor, but now he had confirmation.
“Why did the Ancestor create this Void Dao Temple?” Guan Qian Xing hurriedly asked.
Miao Fei Ping replied, “Ancestor intends to take many of Void World’s geniuses under his tutelage and teach them about the Grand Dao.”
Shang Guan Ji and the others’ eyes lit up.
The Ancestor had long passed down the method to condense one’s Dao Seal to the Seven Stars Sect and had given them many resources to do so with. Some of them had even already begun to form their Dao Seals, while Miao Fei Ping was far ahead of his peers in this regard and had even begun refining Element Powers. Nonetheless, the Void Dao Temple was still extremely attractive to them.
How could Miao Fei Ping not know what they were thinking after seeing their reaction? He immediately added, “Just as I said before, admittance to the Void Dao Temple has nothing to do with your cultivation, only your aptitude. If your aptitude is good enough, you can easily reach it, but if your aptitude is lacking, no matter how high your cultivation is, you can never approach it.”
Shang Guan Ji couldn’t help but awkwardly cough at those words.
He had also tried to ascend to the Void Dao Temple before, but unfortunately, he was unable to do so. In other words, his aptitude wasn’t high enough to be recognized by the Dao Temple.
Regardless, their Ancestor had already taught them the method to form their Dao Seal, so as long as they diligently cultivated, they could break through the shackles of the Emperor Realm someday.
Right now, the Void Dao Temple was a turning point for others.
Fixing his expression, Shang Guan Ji stated, “Since the Void Dao Temple is Ancestor’s handiwork, the Seven Stars Sect will naturally cooperate unconditionally. Fei Ping, since you are the Temple Master and have received the Ancestor’s favour, you must be diligent in the future.”
“Yes!” Miao Fei Ping replied respectfully.
“Regarding the matter of the Dao Temple, how do you want my Seven Stars Sect to cooperate?”
“Please give the order to all disciples to present themselves to the Dao Temple. It only takes an incense stick for those with appropriate aptitude to receive the blessing of the Dao Temple and enter it to cultivate the Grand Dao!”
Shang Guan Ji lightly nodded as a look of admiration appeared on his face, “As expected of Ancestor’s work. If that’s the case, I will arrange for it immediately.”
Soon, the Seven Stars Sect began moving. All of Seven Stars Sect’s disciples, regardless of their cultivation, received orders from the higher-ups to step out from their abodes or places of cultivation and present themselves to the palace in the sky for the time it takes for an incense stick to burn.
The disciples didn’t know why they were asked to look up and observe the floating palace, but since it was an order of the higher-ups, they just had to follow it. In any case, it was just an incense stick’s worth of time, so it wasn’t like it was a burdensome task.
Even the Emperor Realm Masters, who had tried to ascend to the Dao Temple before, found a secluded place and secretly focused on the palace, hoping for a miracle to occur.
The dozen or so giant squares in Seven Stars Sect were soon filled with people, all of them gazing up at the Void Dao Temple.
Time slowly passed.
After the time it took for an incense stick to burn, a five-coloured beam suddenly descended from the palace that had been quietly floating in the sky and landed on one of the disciples.
The next moment, something shocking happened. The disciple’s body slowly floated up, and as the beam of light rapidly withdrew towards the Void Dao Temple, the disciple’s cry rang out from midair.
After the first beam of multi-coloured light, several more descended. Each of these beams seemed to have some kind of restraining power, taking away a disciple who was currently observing the Dao Temple.
These rays of light were not all the same though. They were divided into three colours, five colours, and seven colours.
In just a short period of time, more than 30 disciples had been taken away by the colourful beams. Among them, the seven-coloured beams numbered the least, just two, followed by the five-coloured and then the three-coloured beams.
As for the disciples who had been taken away by the beams, all of them were excellent seedlings with outstanding aptitudes. The greater their aptitudes were, the more colourful the beam that fell on them had been.
The higher-ups of the Seven Stars Sect could vaguely tell that these light beams were related to the aptitude of the disciples. The disciples who were taken away by the seven-coloured beams obviously had the best aptitude, while the three-coloured beams represented lower levels of talent.
The Ancestor’s means were truly marvellous!
Everyone in Void World could clearly see the strange Void Dao Temple and the commotion in Seven Stars Sect.
The Emperor Realm Masters, who had just returned to their residences, were also stunned. They had no idea what Seven Stars Sect was up to now.
There were also some who were secretly anxious. Miao Fei Ping had said that the Void Dao Temple contained the 3,000 Grand Daos, the ultimate truth of the Martial Dao, and the mysteries above the Emperor Realm. Naturally, they were also looking forward to it; however, the matter of the Void Dao Temple was too strange. Many people suspected that it was Seven Stars Sect’s ploy, so for now, they wanted to get a clear picture of the situation before deciding what to do.
But now, Seven Stars Sect had already started moving. If Miao Fei Ping had told the truth, and the Void Dao Temple was really bestowed by the World and Seven Stars Sect would gain an advantage by acting first.
Seven Stars Sect was already the most powerful Sect, and now that they had entered the Void Dao Temple before all others, everyone was worried about who would be able to compete with them in the future.
Southern Star Palace, one of the top Sects of Void World…
At this moment, all of the higher-ups present, including Palace Master Wu Dong Xing, were looking up at the strange phenomenon occurring at the Void Dao Temple, watching the beams descending straight down on Seven Stars Sect, each of them then bringing a Seven Stars Sect disciple into the Dao Temple.
This sight was clearly seen by all. They might have no idea what was going on, but it worried them.
Since such a strange event had suddenly occurred in Void World, Southern Star Palace naturally wanted to find out if this Void Dao Temple really was the work of the Seven Stars Sect or not.
Originally, all of them had thought that this was the case, but now it seemed that it wasn’t so. The phenomenon that appeared from the Void Dao Temple had far exceeded the scope of what Emperor Realm Masters could accomplish. Although the Seven Stars Sect had many Emperor Realm Masters, they did not have such ability.
Just as they were wondering what was happening, a beam of multi-coloured light suddenly descended from the Void Dao Temple, not towards the Seven Stars Sect but towards the Southern Star Palace.
It was a seven-coloured beam!
Wu Dong Xing immediately looked in the direction of the light beam and saw a disciple wearing a Southern Star Palace uniform slowly rising into the sky towards the Void Dao Temple.
The disciple’s behaviour could be considered quite calm, just curiously looking around with a confused expression.
“Who is that disciple?” Wu Dong Xing hurriedly asked. Southern Star Palace had many disciples, so it was practically impossible for the Palace Master to know all of them. Furthermore, this disciple’s cultivation appeared to be extremely low so he should have just entered the Sect recently.
“It’s Xue Fei!” One of the higher-ups recognized this disciple.
Wu Dong Xing Xing’s expression changed, “The genius disciple who joined just three years ago?”
He didn’t know Xue Fei personally, but he had heard of him. Among the new batch of disciples three years ago, some of them had extremely outstanding aptitudes and could be said to be the most outstanding since Southern Star Palace’s founding.
One of those supreme talents was Xue Fei.
[What’s going on? How did Xue Fei get taken away by the beam of light from the Void Dao Temple?]
Wu Dong Xing shouted without giving it another thought, “Stop him!”
Naturally, the genius disciples of their own Sect should remain with them; how could they let them be taken away by the Void Dao Temple?
As soon as he issued the order, the Emperor Realm Masters rose into the air, trying to pull Xue Fei out of the beam. Be that as it may, they were unable to break through the light barrier no matter how hard they tried. All they could do was watch Xue Fei fly further away until he disappeared into the Void Dao Temple.
This was not the end of it though. Following Xue Fei, several more beams descended from the Void Dao Temple, taking away more disciples. Various Elders identified all these disciples as outstanding geniuses. Their time in the Sect was short, and their cultivation was not high.
This was not just happening to Southern Star Palace. Similar things were happening to many disciples of various Sects across all of Void World. Even some children who had never entered a Sect or cultivated before had been taken in by the Void Dao Temple.
Without exception, all of these people who had been taken away by the multi-coloured beams were extremely talented.
After this, various Sects couldn’t sit still. Although the cultivation environment of Void World had been improving over the past few years and good seedlings had been popping up every now and then, they still couldn’t stand them being taken away by the Void Dao Temple.
They still didn’t understand what was going on, but they were certain that the Seven Stars Sect must have some idea about it.
After all, Miao Fei Ping had publicly admitted that he was the first Temple Master of the Void Dao Temple, and the beams had first started descending on the Seven Stars Sect.
Very soon, the higher-ups of the various Sects rushed to the Seven Stars Sect to gather intelligence.
In the end, when they learned the truth that all the geniuses in the World had actually been taken by the Void Dao Temple, they were all filled with resentment.
While the higher-ups of various Sects gathered at Seven Stars Sect, the Void Dao Temple’s recruitment never stopped. From time to time, multi-coloured beams of light would descend and pick up a talented person from somewhere.
In less than a dozen days, all the top young talents in the entire Void World had been taken away by the beams descending from the Void Dao Temple.
All the disciples who had been taken away had one common attribute, and that was that their cultivation wasn’t high while their aptitudes were all extraordinary.
At the same time, some Emperor Realm Masters of the top Sects had also suddenly obtained a connection with the Void Dao Temple and were chosen to serve as Deacons. At the same time, they were allowed to enter the Dao Temple to cultivate and guide the disciples who had been taken away by the beams.
The Emperor Realm Deacons who had been chosen were all a bit sceptical at first; after all, it was all too bizarre and difficult to understand. No one had told them about it in person, they just somehow felt the mysterious connection to the Void Dao Temple all of a sudden, as if there was an additional mark on their bodies, allowing them to become Deacons.
These Emperor Realm Deacons were all sceptical, but when they tried to enter the Dao Temple, they were surprised to discover that they could actually fly straight to it.
The mark that had appeared on their bodies seemed to be a kind of authorization to enter the Dao Temple!
There was not a massive number of Deacons, but there were still quite a few of them. Almost every top Sect had one.
When these Deacons entered the Dao Temple, they would either remain inside for a few hours or a few days before rushing back to their respective Sects and explaining what they had seen and heard.
The entire Void World shook from their revelations.
This was because according to these selected Dao Temple Deacons, the disciples who had been taken away were living quite well in the Dao Temple. Not only that, but the Dao Temple itself was like a completely different world. It was rich in World Energy and had perfect World Principles to cultivate in. It would undoubtedly be many times faster to cultivate in such an environment than normal.
There was also a massive Secret Art Pavilion inside the Dao Temple, which had countless Secret Arts and Secret Techniques. All of these Secret Arts were extremely precious and could be read by anyone without any restrictions. The Dao Temple didn’t even restrict them from teaching them to outsiders.
In other words, they could freely pass on any Secret Art and Secret Technique inside the Dao Temple to their own Sect.
There were also visions in the Dao Temple, demonstrating the mysteries above the Emperor Realm.
Now, the Emperor Realm Masters of Void World knew that there was an Open Heaven Realm above the Emperor Realm, and if one wanted to reach the Open Heaven Realm, they would first need to condense a Dao Seal. Then, if they wanted to complete their Dao Seal, they would need to refine cultivation materials of appropriate Elements and Orders!
What was most shocking was that these materials were all readily available in the Dao Temple, but they could not be taken at will. It needed a certain amount of contributions to the Dao Temple. As for how to gain contribution, the Deacons were unable to figure this out because their time in the Dao Temple was too short.
Only one thing was clear, if a Sect’s disciple was chosen by the Dao Temple, they would be able to obtain a certain amount of contribution points. The more disciples were chosen, the more the contribution points they would receive, and these contribution points could be exchanged for resources in the Dao Temple.
After the revelations from various Deacons, the great Sects no longer held any doubts about the Void Dao Temple. They had originally thought that it was the Seven Stars Sect’s handiwork, but now it seemed that it was indeed a miracle bestowed on them by the World, the Heavenly Way guiding them in their cultivation.
Everyone had already understood the requirements to enter the Dao Temple. Apart from the chosen Deacons who were freely allowed to enter and exit, entrance to the Dao Temple depended on one’s aptitude.
If one’s aptitude was outstanding enough, a dazzling beam would naturally descend from the Dao Temple as long as they presented themselves to it for an incense stick worth of time. Truly, the profundities of the Heavenly Way were endless and not something that could be fathomed by ordinary people.
At this point, the Sects no longer had any objections to the Void Dao Temple and all of them ordered their disciples to pay their respects to it; after all, their Sect could gain contribution points and exchange them for resources as long as their disciples were selected.
Although these genius disciples were the foundation of the Sect’s future prosperity, cultivating them would require a great deal of time and effort. How could they be compared to the temptation of exploring a higher Martial Dao on their own? What’s more, the disciples who had been taken in by the Dao Temple still had their names registered under their original Sect and their connection to it had not yet been severed. If these disciples were willing, they could travel between the Dao Temple and the Sect at any time.
The entire Void World was bustling with noise and excitement. Since the appearance of the Void Dao Temple a month ago, multi-coloured beams would appear, taking away individuals with extraordinary aptitudes each day.
After the Dao Temple Master Miao Fei Ping and the many Emperor Realm Deacons entered, the Void Dao Temple officially began operating. In just a short month, the Dao Temple had taken in over 500 disciples, each of them a genius who would be carefully cultivated by any Sect. Now that Miao Fei Ping and the other Deacons were taking care of them though, Yang Kai didn’t need to intervene until they had advanced to the Emperor Realm.
The Dao Temple disciples would definitely increase over time, and when these disciples had broken through to the Open Heaven Realm in the future, they would become a force that would help the Human Race resist the Black Ink Clan.
The power of the World Tree clone was beginning to show.
Furthermore, in order to perfect the Dao Temple’s Secret Art Pavilion, Yang Kai took the time to pay a visit to Blue Sky Pass’ War Materials Hall and spent a large amount of Military Merits to exchange for Secret Arts and Secret Techniques from the various Cave Heavens and Paradises.
These Secret Arts and Techniques would be considered priceless treasures and not easily released to others if this was the 3,000 Worlds, but they were quite common and accessible on the Black Ink Battlefield. After all, even the Demon Eye of Annihilation and Black Purgatory Eye, core Secret Techniques of Myriad Demons Heaven that would never be passed down to outsiders, could be exchanged for with Military Merits, so what of other Secret Arts and Techniques?
It did not take much time or effort to build the Void Dao Temple as everything in Yang Kai’s Small Universe could be decided by him with a flash of his thoughts.
After the Void Dao Temple was on the right track, Yang Kai didn’t pay much attention to it. Currently, the Void Dao Temple had just taken in its first disciples and they had not been cultivating for too long. It would still take some time for them to mature.
In addition to refining cultivation materials, most of Yang Kai’s time was spent on comprehending Secret Techniques. As time passed, his strength slowly and steadily increased.
Until one day, something pulled his heartstrings. He immediately focused his attention on his Small Universe.
When he laid his eyes on the figure sitting cross-legged in the Void Dao Temple, he finally muttered, “Is it time already? Since that’s the case, I shall let you decide for yourself.”
Inside the Void Dao Temple, Miao Fei Ping happened to be refining the last Element Power to complete his Dao Seal. According to the Ancestor, once he succeeded, he would be able to split Heaven and Earth apart within his body, and break through the shackles of the Emperor Realm, thereby advancing to the Open Heaven Realm.
However, no matter how hard he tried, he was unable to take that final step. There seemed to be a thin membrane that could be broken with a flick of his finger standing in his way, but he couldn’t seem to touch it regardless of how he tried.
Miao Fei Ping’s temperament was undoubtedly firm and steady; he did not falter even in this situation.
Until he suddenly heard the Ancestor’s voice.
Logically speaking, if one were to be disturbed at such a critical moment, their mind would definitely be shaken. In the best-case scenario, they would suffer from cultivation dissonance, and in the worst-case scenario, they might even die on the spot.
Nonetheless, this did not happen to Miao Fei Ping, because at the same time the Ancestor’s voice was transmitted to him, a gentle force stabilized his state of mind, allowing him to avoid this calamity. Even the berserk Emperor Qi in his body calmed down.
When he opened his eyes, Miao Fei Ping saw a smiling man standing in front of him. It was none other than the Ancestor.
Miao Fei Ping hurriedly stood up and respectfully bowed, “Disciple greets Ancestor!”
Yang Kai lightly nodded. At this moment, he was nothing more than a Soul Avatar, just like when he travelled across his Small Universe all those years ago. Nonetheless, the Soul Avatar in Miao Fei Ping’s eyes was equivalent to the arrival of the Ancestor’s true body. He didn’t dare to show any disrespect.
“It’s been hard on you all these years.”
Only 20 years had passed in the outside world since the establishment of the Void Dao Temple, so 80 years had passed in the Small Universe. Over the past 80 years, the number of disciples the Void Dao Temple had accepted had reached over 2,000, each and every one of them a Dragon among men.
With Miao Fei Ping acting as the Temple Master, the Deacons chosen by the Dao Temple all diligently guided these disciples. He had truly worked hard over these years; after all, the cultivation of these chosen disciples wasn’t high. Many of them were children who had never cultivated before. Taking care of them was indeed a daunting task.
There were many benefits to managing various affairs of the Dao Temple, the most direct of which was that one could obtain a fixed amount of contribution points every month, and these contribution points could be exchanged for cultivation resources in the Dao Temple, but the downside was that it delayed one’s cultivation.
If not for this, Miao Fei Ping would not have taken a century to finally reach this point with his aptitude.
“Disciple is honoured by Ancestor’s concern, but it was not difficult at all,” Miao Fei Ping replied respectfully.
Yang Kai nodded his acknowledgement, “Right now, you’re just a step away from the Open Heaven Realm, but if you want to reach it, you must make a choice.”
“A choice?” Miao Fei Ping was puzzled, “Ancestor, please explain.”
Yang Kai continued, “With your aptitude and current foundation, it may be a bit risky to break through to the Sixth Order, but the risks aren’t that great. Do you know why you still haven’t been able to break through even after being in a retreat for so long?”
Miao Fei Ping shook his head, “Perhaps this Disciple is slow-witted. Perhaps I will not be able to comprehend the fleeting opportunity to break through even if I put in all my effort. But Ancestor can rest assured, this Disciple will definitely redouble his efforts in cultivating so as not to disappoint you.”
Yang Kai chuckled, “If you can be considered slow-witted, then there aren’t many smart people in Void World.”
Miao Fei Ping humbly replied, “Ancestor is too kind.”
“The reason you can’t break through is not because your comprehension or aptitude is lacking, but because of the environment. As long as you remain in Void World, you will never be able to break through the shackles of the Emperor Realm and advance to the Open Heaven Realm.”
“Why is that?” Miao Fei Ping looked confused
Yang Kai replied, looking at him with a smile, “Because Void World is my Small Universe.”
Miao Fei Ping was rooted to the spot, stunned.
Yang Kai continued, “When Emperor Realm cultivators condense their Dao Seals and gather the Powers of Yin, Yang, and Five Elements, they will be able to form a Small Universe World inside their body, thus advancing to the Open Heaven Realm. The Open Heaven Realm is divided into nine Orders. First to Third-Order is the Low-Rank, Fourth to Sixth-Order is the Mid-Rank, Seventh-Order and above is High-Rank. Low-Rank and Mid-Rank Open Heaven Realm Masters’ Small Universes are immaterial and illusory, while High-Rank Open Heaven Realm Masters’ Small Universes are solid and tangible, just like this Void World.”
“Every Open Heaven Realm cultivator has their own Small Universe, and the World Force of that Small Universe is the foundation of the Open Heaven Realm’s strength. Even if two people cultivate the same Secret Art and comprehend the same Grand Dao, after they reach the Open Heaven Realm, the World Force in their Small Universes will naturally be different.”
“This kind of difference is unique to every Open Heaven Realm Master. Other Open Heaven Realm Masters might be able to refine it for their own use to increase their strength, but if the difference is too great, it will instead become impurities that destroy their foundation.”
“If you broke through to the Open Heaven Realm inside my Small Universe, the World Force you unconsciously release at the moment of ascension will contaminate my foundation and affect my cultivation, so I cannot allow you to break through in Void World. This can be considered a restriction of the entire Void World, do you understand?”
It was not that hard for Miao Fei Ping to understand, but after learning that the world he had been living in was actually the Ancestor’s Small Universe, he was still shocked and couldn’t recover for a long time.
“If you want to enter the Open Heaven Realm, the only option is to leave my Small Universe and enter the vast Outer Universe.” Yang Kai’s eyes became solemn, “However, the environment I am in right now is not safe. If you leave Void World, your life will constantly be at risk, and you will have to fight against powerful enemies. Even with my strength, I may not be able to protect you.”
Miao Fei Ping muttered, “Is this the choice Ancestor spoke of?”
Yang Kai nodded his affirmation, “That’s right, whether to remain in Void World as an Emperor Realm Master, or take the risk and leave Void World to achieve the Open Heaven Realm is up to you.”
In the face of such a sudden choice, even an Emperor Realm Master like Miao Fei Ping was a little hesitant.
Yang Kai observed his expression and lightly nodded, “You can take your time and inform me after you have made a decision.”
Saying so, his figure gradually started to fade as he prepared to leave.
Before he could go though, Miao Fei Ping suddenly raised his head and asked, “Ancestor, are Junior Sister Zhao Ya and Senior Brother Zhao Ye Bai still in Void World?”
Yang Kai’s figure solidified again as he shook his head, “They left long ago.”
Miao Fei Ping let out a long sigh. Although he had suspected it, it was only now that he got the confirmation. He lightly nodded his acknowledgement before asking, “Since Junior Sister Zhao Ya and Senior Brother Zhao Ye Bai have long since left Void World, I assume they will advance to the Open Heaven Realm in the future?”
Yang Kai pondered for a moment before replying, “Naturally, but their situation is different from yours. They are currently in another Great World, where they don’t have to be worried about external threats. So, there is no need to worry.”
“May I ask what Order those two will reach when they break through?”
“If everything goes according to plan, they should reach the Seventh Order!”
“Seventh-Order!” Miao Fei Ping chuckled, “As expected of those two, but the difference between the Sixth and Seventh Order is only one Order, the difference isn’t too great.”
Saying so, Miao Fei Ping cupped his fist and declared his choice, “This Disciple wishes to advance to the Open Heaven Realm. I ask Ancestor to help!”
Yang Kai looked at him, slightly narrowing his eyes, “Have you thought your decision through? Don’t try to compete with others, only follow your heart.”
Miao Fei Ping declared, shaking his head, “It is not about comparing myself with those two, it’s just that we cultivators have cultivated for our entire lives, taking one step at a time, all so we may stand at the peak and see the extraordinary scenery from above. If we are going to stop halfway, why should we cultivate at all? Since I’m presented with such an opportunity today, this Disciple does not want to miss it. Not to mention… Ancestor is fighting powerful enemies, and while this Disciple might not be talented, he is willing to assist Ancestor in battle!”
Yang Kai happily nodded, “Your heart is righteous indeed. Since that is the case, I shall grant your wish.”
Miao Fei Ping once again cupped his fist in gratitude, “Many thanks, Ancestor, but… after this Disciple leaves, who will manage Void Dao Temple? Please make a decision.”
Yang Kai asked, “Who do you recommend?”
Miao Fei Ping pondered for a moment, “Deacon Tang Wen is steady and virtuous, he is also fair in his conduct. He is a Third-Order Emperor Realm Master, so his cultivation is enough to convince the others. After this Disciple leaves, I believe he will be the appropriate choice to assume the position of Temple Master.”
“Tang Wen!” Yang Kai meaningfully looked at him, “He’s not from Seven Stars Sect, he seems to be from Stalwart Pavilion, right?”
Miao Fei Ping justified, “This Disciple believes that the Ancestor created the Void Dao Temple to select talents from all over the world, presumably to fight against a powerful enemy that this Disciple doesn’t know about. Since that is the case, this Disciple doesn’t dare to have any selfish motives. Seven Stars Sect has been rapidly developing these past few years and has already become the number one Sect in Void World. If another Elder from the Seven Stars Sect were to take over the position of Temple Master, I’m afraid that he would become too arrogant and dishonour Ancestor’s original intention to create the Dao Temple.”
Yang Kai agreed with a smile, “You’re wise. Since that’s the case, Tang Wen will take over the Void Dao Temple.” He pondered for a moment before continuing, “Let’s put on a show before you leave.”
“A show?” Miao Fei Ping was puzzled.
Half a day later, Miao Fei Ping summoned all of the Void Dao Temple Deacons and announced that he would be advancing soon, and that he would like to take care of Void Dao Temple’s affairs before entering retreat.
The Deacons were both shocked and envious. After working in the Dao Temple, they naturally had a better understanding of the Open Heaven Realm than others. Everyone had been working towards this goal all these years, but the fastest among them had only refined three materials and was still far from breaking through.
When they suddenly heard Temple Master Miao Fei Ping say that he was about to break through, they were naturally extremely envious.
Although they were envious, they still congratulated him.
After making some arrangements, Miao Fei Ping made a trip back to the Seven Stars Sect to inform the Sect Master Shang Guan Ji and the Elders that he was about to enter retreat to break through.
Soon, all of the Emperor Realm Masters in Void World knew that Miao Fei Ping was about to break the Emperor Realm’s shackles. The Emperor Realm Masters were naturally looking forward to it.
It had to be known that this was the first time in the entire history of Void World that someone was about to rise above the Emperor Realm. Whether he succeeded or failed would affect the future development of the entire world’s Martial Dao, so it naturally garnered a lot of attention.
Furthermore, personally witnessing this breakthrough would be greatly beneficial to them in the future.
Miao Fei Ping soon went into the retreat.
All the top Sects were constantly trying to find out whether Miao Fei Ping had succeeded or failed in his retreat, but none of the Deacons knew, because after Miao Fei Ping went into seclusion, they had received no word from him; no one even knew if he was alive or dead.
On a certain day after about a month, Void World suddenly shook as dazzling multi-coloured lights filled the sky and a powerful aura suddenly overflowed from the Void Dao Temple.
This aura clearly surpassed the Emperor Realm.
The higher-ups of the various great Sects were beside themselves and immediately turned their eyes towards the Void Dao Temple.
Under everyone’s gaze, a figure suddenly stepped out from the Void Dao Temple. It was none other than the first Temple Master, Miao Fei Ping!
But at this moment, Miao Fei Ping was surrounded by a dazzling glow, making him look like a Deity descending from the Heavens. The aura emanating from his body made all the Emperors yearn to achieve the same.
Thunderous rumbles shook the world, wind blew fierce as the Sun and Moon dimmed.
Many weaker cultivators who didn’t know what was happening couldn’t help but bow their heads and pray to the Heavens when they saw this.
Miao Fei Ping’s aura surged as the might of his Grand Dao filled the air. He then looked down and started speaking, his voice shook the world, “After my breakthrough to the Open Heaven Realm, this World will no longer be able to accommodate me. After my departure, the Void Dao Temple will choose a person to serve as the Temple Master. My Fellow Brothers and Sisters, please assist them.”
Saying so, he turned his head towards Seven Stars Sect and nodded slightly before taking a step forward.
When his feet landed, space shattered like a mirror.
Everyone who saw this scene was shocked.
After a long time, the shattered Void gradually returned to its usual state, but when they looked again, Miao Fei Ping was nowhere to be seen. He had disappeared without a trace. The entire world was devoid of his aura.
He had shattered the Void and left this World!
Many of the Emperor Realm Masters’ hearts skipped a beat.
Judging by what Miao Fei Ping had said, he had already broken through to the Open Heaven Realm. Void World was unable to contain him after breaking through to the Open Heaven Realm, so he had no choice but to shatter the Void and leave. Although they didn’t know where he would go after leaving this world, it was obvious he had gone to a place with a higher Martial Dao.
This was the first person to break the shackles of the Emperor Realm and break free from the barriers of the World, causing a sensation that shook Void World and which would not be forgotten for hundreds of years.
At this moment, in addition to the shock brought about by Miao Fei Ping’s shattering the Void, the various Sects and Deacons were also concerned about something else.
It was who was going to be the next Temple Master.
The Void Dao Temple had only been founded 100 years ago, but all of the disciples it had taken in these past 100 years were extremely talented. In just a short time, these people had achieved many things that ordinary cultivators would never be able to achieve in their lifetime.
One could imagine how these disciples would become the cornerstones of the entire Void World in the future. They might even advance to the Open Heaven Realm, shatter the Void, and leave, just like Miao Fei Ping.
Who would not want to have such a powerful force in their hands? Be that as it may, Miao Fei Ping, the first Temple Master, was chosen by the Dao Temple. And before he left, he said that the next Temple Master would be chosen by the Dao Temple.
Who would be appointed as the next Temple Master?
Many Sect Masters were already thinking about how to contribute so that their Elders or Deacons could become the next Temple Master.
Nonetheless, their various plans and schemes were destined to be futile.
As soon as Miao Fei Ping left, a beam of light descended from the Dao Temple towards one of the Deacons.
At the same time, all the Deacons received a message.
[The second Temple Master is Tang Wen!]
Tang Wen himself hadn’t expected that the position of the Temple Master would fall upon his head, so he couldn’t help but be stunned for a moment. It wasn’t until the various Deacons all paid their respects to him that he reacted.
Just as Miao Fei Ping had stated, Tang Wen was steady and virtuous, so even though he had obtained the position of Temple Master, his conduct was still the same as before. He quickly raised his hand and addressed everyone, “Fellow Deacons, please don’t think that things will change after this, treat me like before, there is no need to be so polite. I hope everyone can help me in the future. This Tang will manage the Void Dao Temple together with all of you and will not let down the World, nor Temple Master Miao.”
Much to Seven Stars Sect’s disappointment, the second Temple Master position had actually fallen on Tang Wen. Nonetheless, they felt much more at ease after thinking about the various cultivation resources that the Ancestor had bestowed upon them over the years. They believed that the Ancestor must have had his own reasons for doing something like this; there would be no Seven Stars Sect today without the Ancestor after all. So, although they were disappointed, they didn’t complain and instead worked even harder to cooperate with the Void Dao Temple.
The matter of the Void Dao Temple had come to an end. Miao Fei Ping’s breakthrough to the Open Heaven Realm and his act of shattering the Void had been a sensation throughout the world, causing the Emperor Realm Masters to cultivate even more diligently. Everyone yearned to break through to the Open Heaven Realm as soon as possible.
At the same time, on a universe fragment outside Blue Sky Pass, Miao Fei Ping was advancing to the Open Heaven Realm.
When the Emperor Realm Masters of Void World witnessed him shatter the Void and leave, they all thought he had broken through to the Open Heaven Realm, but in reality, he was just following Yang Kai’s script.
He didn’t know why the Ancestor was doing this, but since it was a request from the Ancestor, he naturally would follow it to the dot.
After leaving Void World, Miao Fei Ping began his true breakthrough to the Open Heaven Realm.
His aptitude was originally only enough for him to advance to the Fifth Order, but because of the World Tree clone’s feedback, he could now advance to the Sixth Order, though he had to take some risks.
No one could help him break through to the Open Heaven Realm, not even Yang Kai. The only help he could provide was some experience in breaking through to the next Realm for reference.
On the universe fragment, not only was Yang Kai here, but also Feng Ying and Bai Yi. They were naturally not here to watch a spectacle, but to stand guard; after all, this place was on the outskirts of Blue Sky Pass, and the Black Ink Clan had been a little reckless these days. If some ignorant Black Ink Clansman came here and disturbed Miao Fei Ping’s breakthrough, it would be a disaster for the latter.
Fortunately, everything went quite smoothly with no Black Ink Clan interference and no dangerous moments during the breakthrough. By the time the dust settled, Miao Fei Ping had advanced to the Sixth-Order Open Heaven Realm.
Yang Kai, looking at his excited face, couldn’t help but feel a little emotional.
He recalled how he met Miao Fei Ping for the first time when he was just a boy; he was quite a mischievous kid who bullied Zhao Ye Bai and Zhao Ya from time to time, relying on his age. It wasn’t really bullying though, just children being children.
Years had gone by in the blink of an eye, and now that boy had broken through to the Sixth-Order Open Heaven Realm.
Seeing the sight before him, Yang Kai couldn’t help wondering how his three Disciples were doing; however, Yang Kai estimated that they had yet to break through to the Open Heaven Realm.
It wasn’t that his Disciples’ aptitudes were worse than Miao Fei Ping’s. Zhao Ye Bai was indeed lacking in terms of talent, but Zhao Ya’s aptitude was incomparable, and his Third Disciple, Xu Yi’s aptitude wasn’t bad either. Furthermore, since all three of his Disciples had obtained one of his Grand Dao’s true inheritances, their future prospects were limitless.
The reason Miao Fei Ping had advanced so quickly was mainly because he had been living in Yang Kai’s Small Universe and had spent a different amount of time cultivating compared to his three Disciples.
Recalling how this brat came from his own Small Universe, Yang Kai suddenly felt like was watching his own child grow up.
“Ancestor!” Miao Fei Ping excitedly walked over to Yang Kai, obviously unable to contain his joy at the success of his breakthrough, “Disciple has not disappointed Ancestor’s expectations and successfully advanced to the Open Heaven Realm.”
Yang Kai lightly nodded his acknowledgement, “Advancing to the Open Heaven Realm is just the beginning. You are now a Sixth-Order Master, so you have a high chance of advancing to the Eighth-Order in the future. However, the cultivation of the Open Heaven Realm focuses on accumulating strength over a long period of time. You must not become arrogant or impatient, never try to rashly push yourself to advance.”
Miao Fei Ping respectfully replied, “Disciple will remember!”
Afterwards, he turned to Feng Ying and Bai Yi and bowed, thanking, “Many thanks, Martial Aunts, for protecting me.”
Feng Ying waved her hand and stated, “It was nothing, don’t mind it.” Bai Yi, on the other hand, had a reserved personality and simply nodded without saying anything.
Feng Ying continued, “But brat, you call him Ancestor, yet you call us Martial Aunts. The seniority is a mess. You’ve actually lowered our status by several generations.”
Miao Fei Ping didn’t know how to respond.
Yang Kai suggested as a smile appeared on his lips, “You’re right. How about this, don’t call me Ancestor from now on, just call me Martial Uncle.”
“How… how can I do that?” Miao Fei Ping looked distraught.
Yang Kai stated, “On this Black Ink Battlefield, all Humans only have one relationship, fellow comrades who share life and death. Whether it’s Ancestor or Martial Uncle, they’re all just titles. If you find it difficult to call me Martial Uncle, you can just call me Squad Leader.”
Miao Fei Ping honestly replied, “Disciple will call you Martial Uncle.”
“It’s up to you.” Yang Kai smiled, “Let’s go, I’ll bring you back to the Great Pass to register yourself. You’ve just arrived here, you still have a lot to learn.”
After leading Miao Fei Ping back to Blue Sky Pass, Yang Kai took him to the Western Army Headquarters and went to Zhong Liang, explaining Miao Fei Ping’s origins.
Zhong Liang was already aware that Yang Kai’s Small Universe had many Humans living in it. Moreover, these Army Commanders were very optimistic about the future of these Humans because of the existence of the World Tree clone.
Be that as it may, a cultivator needed time to grow, so no one had expected to see results so quickly.
Today, there was a Sixth-Order Open Heaven Realm Master, tomorrow, there would be more Sixth-Order and even Seventh-Order Masters! These Masters would become the backbone of the resistance against the Black Ink Clan.
As such, Zhong Liang readily registered Miao Fei Ping and issued him an Identity Token.
Under Yang Kai’s request, Miao Fei Ping was assigned to the Dawn Squad, becoming a member of the Squad.
Afterwards, Miao Fei Peng had to find a place to live. Blue Sky Pass had many places for the soldiers to live though, and many of these were unoccupied, so this was not an issue.
After Miao Fei Ping asked about Yang Kai’s residence, he chose a place nearby, not minding anything else.
In any case, he was still a newcomer. He didn’t have any Military Merits to speak of, and because he had just advanced, he needed time and resources to consolidate his cultivation.
Without Military Merits, he did not have anything to exchange for cultivation resources. Fortunately, Yang Kai had a lot of resources on hand so he gave him a few and told him to go back and cultivate. Miao Fei Ping naturally didn’t dare disobey his orders.
On the way back, Miao Fei Ping uneasily asked, “Martial Uncle, the show I put on before I left looked quite spectacular, but if someone else were to break through to the Open Heaven Realm, wouldn’t it be exposed?”
Yang Kai explained with a smile, “In the current Void World, who else do you think has a chance to break through to the Open Heaven Realm besides you?”
Miao Fei Ping answered, “There are many of them, and although they’re all completing the Powers in their Dao Seals right now, a few will reach that Realm some day or the other, there is quite a good chance of that happening.”
“Yes, there are many of them, but they are different from you. You can leave Void World and come to Blue Sky Pass, but others cannot.”
“Why?”
Yang Kai pointed around and asked, “Look carefully, what’s common about everyone here?”
Miao Fei Ping observed them for a moment before replying, “All of them are Fifth-Order Masters and above. Even Fifth-Order Masters are rare, basically all of them are Sixth-Order and above.”
“That’s right, basically everyone here is a Sixth-Order Master or higher because this is the Black Ink Battlefield where we are fighting against the Black Ink Clan. If their Order is too low, they won’t be of much help here. In fact, even the Fifth-Order Masters you’re seeing are only in that Realm because their cultivations regressed from the Sixth-Order.”
Miao Fei Ping pondered for a moment before asking, “Does Martial Uncle mean that those who cannot break through directly to the Sixth-Order Open Heaven Realm are not qualified to come here?”
“Precisely.”
“Disciple understands,” Understanding suddenly dawned upon Miao Fei Ping.
Yang Kai had opened Void World and brought him to the Black Ink Battlefield as Miao Fei Ping’s aptitude was enough to advance to the Sixth-Order Open Heaven Realm directly. Although there were many Emperor Realm Masters in Void World, according to what he knew, there was not a single one who could refine Sixth-Order material except him. There were a few who could refine Fifth-Order materials, but they had obviously not met Yang Kai’s requirements.
As such, they would probably never be able to leave Void World.
Only the disciples chosen by the Void Dao Temple would be able to leave Void World in the future and advance to the Open Heaven Realm because all of them had outstanding aptitudes. The Order of the Open Heaven Realm they could reach would definitely be higher, so most of them should be able to meet Yang Kai’s requirements.
Miao Fei Ping’s strength had greatly increased after entering the Open Heaven Realm; also, he had suddenly arrived at an unfamiliar and dangerous place like the Black Ink Battlefield. He had many things he needed to learn, but the most important thing right now was to stabilize his cultivation.
After parting ways with Yang Kai, he returned to his new residence and began refining resources.
Recently, the Black Ink Clan was a little restless. It had been almost a century since the last war between the two Races concluded in the Blue Sky Theatre. The Black Ink Clan had recovered its strength after so many years, so they were obviously looking to start another war.
The Black Ink Clan was not afraid of their loss in strength, but the lives of every Human were extremely precious. So, the Black Ink Clan had been employing the strategy of sending an Army to besiege the Great Passes as long as they had the strength to fight for countless years. Nonetheless, they failed to conquer it after so many attempts.
The Human Race might not have many soldiers, but each and every one of them was an elite. They were able to rout the Black Ink Clan every single time, relying on their Warships and the unique advantages of the Great Pass.
After countless cycles of offence and defence, countless millennia had gone by.
Now that the war was about to begin again, Blue Sky Pass was preparing. Blue Sky Pass was bustling with the activities of the Open Heaven Realm Masters. All those who were in retreat all year round were undoubtedly preparing for war.
Blue Sky Pass had no clue where and when the Black Ink Clan army would strike, and it had always been like this.
Mostly, the initiative of the war was in the hands of the Black Ink Clan while the Human Race could only passively defend.
Of course, there were times when the Humans also attacked. For instance, the soldiers of Blue Sky Pass attacked the Black Ink Clan’s territory last time under the leadership of their Old Ancestor, which resulted in the Black Ink Clan’s retaliation, and a war breaking out. If it weren’t for that war, Yang Kai wouldn’t have been able to escape the Black Ink Clan so easily and arrive at Blue Sky Pass.
Another example was the recent battle at Yin-Yang Pass, where the Humans were the first to attack, but that was mainly to coordinate with Yang Kai’s actions.
Most of the time, the Human Race’s situation was quite passive.
Although they were forced into a passive position, Blue Sky Pass was still trying to gain the upper hand. At the very least, they needed to understand the timing and direction of the Black Ink Clan’s attack.
One Squad after another was sent out to serve as scouts to investigate the movements of the Black Ink Clan army and obtain intelligence on them.
In the past, Blue Sky Pass had also taken similar measures, but the scope of the scouting parties’ movements were limited because they didn’t have the Universe Arrays as a safeguard. By the time they discovered something, the Black Ink Clan Army would usually only be a day or two away from Blue Sky Pass.
If the scouts were slow, they would be at risk of being wiped out.
But now, things were different, owing to the existence of the Universe Arrays. The Scouts were able to move more freely, and their safety was guaranteed.
The effective range of the Universe Array became the range of the scouts’ movements. This way, they would be able to predict the enemy’s movements and make early preparations.
As a Special Operations Squad, Dawn had many members and elites, so it was naturally the most suitable for such a mission.
A year after Miao Fei Ping broke through to the Open Heaven Realm, he received Yang Kai’s summon and promptly came out to report.
The over 30 members of Dawn Squad were assembled together. Out of these, six were Seventh-Order Open Heaven Realm Masters, including Yang Kai, Feng Ying, and Bai Yi.
Such a lineup was exemplary, even considering the entire Black Ink Battlefield.
Under everyone’s attention, Yang Kai spoke, “It’s been almost a century since the last war. The Black Ink Clan is making a comeback. Dawn has received orders from the Army Commander to temporarily act as a scout and keep an eye on the Black Ink Clan’s movements. We won’t engage the Black Ink Clan army this time, we’re only responsible for collecting intelligence. Nonetheless, the battlefield is full of dangers and uncertainty, so I hope everyone will remain vigilant. I expect every one of us who sorties to return alive!”
Everyone nodded.
With everyone’s morale raised high, Yang Kai nodded slightly, signalling to Feng Ying. Feng Ying stepped forward and handed out a jade bottle to each Squad member.
While she was distributing the pills, Yang Kai explained, “These are Purifying Black Ink Pills that were developed a few years ago. I believe I don’t need to explain much about the effects of these pills, everyone knows that if you are accidentally invaded by Black Ink Strength, you must take this pill as soon as possible to ensure your safety. Of course, you can also use the Universe Transference Law to return to Dawning Light. The Purifying Light can also disperse Black Ink Strength, but we can’t always account for sudden accidents. If you are unable to activate the Universe Transference Law in time and become invaded by Black Ink Strength, this Purifying Black Ink Pill can be used to save your life. Although the materials to refine Purifying Black Ink Pills aren’t particularly rare, there aren’t many Alchemists inside the Pass who can refine this pill, so the supply is limited. Each of you will receive two pills, and each one of them is extremely rare and precious.”
While Yang Kai was explaining, many members were examining the jade bottles in their hands.
They had naturally heard of the Purifying Black Ink Pill before. When it was first developed, it had caused quite a stir in Blue Sky Pass.
The corruption of Black Ink Strength had always been a thorn in the Human Race’s side that could never be removed before Yang Kai came to Blue Sky Pass. Yang Kai’s appearance had brought the Purifying Light that could dispel Black Ink Strength, which had played a huge role in the last war against the Black Ink Clan, greatly reducing the Human Race’s casualties.
Be that as it may, the Purifying Light was sealed inside the Purifying Black Ink Battleships, so it was necessary to use the Universe Transference Law to return to the Purifying Black Ink Battleships to be treated. Because of the importance of the Purifying Black Ink Battleships, they were usually placed inside the Pass or in the rear of the battlefield.
As such, once one used the Universe Transference Law to return to a Purifying Black Ink Battleship, they would need to travel a great distance to return to the battlefield. Furthermore, when they used the Universe Transference Law, they couldn’t be disturbed for several breaths.
But the Purifying Black Ink Pill was different. They could take the pill even if they were locked in battle against a Black Ink Clansman; thus, they would not need to disengage and find a safe spot or rush back to the battlefield after they were treated.
It could be said that the Purifying Black Ink Pill and Purifying Light both had their own pros and cons. With the combination of both though, the problem of the Black Ink Strength corruption had been almost completely solved, allowing the Humans to relax and fight against the Black Ink Clan without restraint.
After ensuring that every member of the Squad was given their Purifying Black Ink Pills, Yang Kai raised his hand and ordered, “Move out.”
Ordering so, he took the lead and flew out, closely followed by the rest.
When Yang Kai led his Squad to the west gate of Blue Sky Pass, hundreds of other Open Heaven Realm Masters were already gathered here in groups of ten or so. Clearly, all of them were members of Squads.
Seeing Yang Kai’s arrival, many people came up to greet him. These people had either received Yang Kai’s life-saving grace or had heard of him. Yang Kai naturally responded and greeted them one by one.
There were also some arrogant fellows who nitpicked at them from afar, but none of them came forward. The main reason was that Dawn Squad was too eye-catching. Compared to the dozen or so members of their Squad, Dawn had over thirty people, six of whom were Seventh-Order Masters.
Other Squads only had three Seventh-Order Masters at most. Dawn Squad’s lineup made many Squad Leaders drool.
A moment later, a figure descended from the sky. It was none other than the Western Army Commander, Zhong Liang!
Zhong Liang’s dignified gaze swept over them before he spoke, “The mission this time is to gather intelligence. If you are outnumbered or think you can’t defeat the enemy, avoid engaging the Black Ink Clan.”
Suddenly, one of the Squad Leaders grinned and asked, “What if we can?”
Zhong Liang glared at him, obviously blaming him for speaking out of turn, but he still responded, “If you can wipe them out, you should naturally thrash those bastards.”
Everyone immediately burst into laughter, dispelling the tense atmosphere before the expedition.
Zhong Liang continued, “The Black Ink Clan also has scouts, so be careful and avoid them. If you find any traces of the Black Ink Clan army, report back immediately!” After he was finished speaking, he raised his hand and shouted, “Open the gates!”
At the west gate Spirit Array barrier, the Array Masters changed their hand seals and opened a gap.
A solemn expression took over Zhong Liang’s face as he cupped his fist and shouted, “This Zhong wishes all of you a prosperous Martial Dao and a triumphant return!”
Hundreds of soldiers cupped their fists in return before rushing out of the exit under the leadership of their Squad Leaders, painting a spectacular scene.
Outside the pass, the Squad Leaders summoned their Warships one after another before their respective Squads boarded them. After everyone had boarded, the Warships left streaks of dazzling light as they scattered in all directions.
On the Dawn Squad’s side, Feng Ying had also taken out Dawning Light. The Squad members skillfully boarded the Warship and took to their respective positions.
Yang Kai, gazing at the familiar yet unfamiliar Dawning Light, couldn’t help but furrow his brow and ask, “Senior Sister, did you spend your Military Merits to modify Dawning Light again?”
The last time Yang Kai had gone to Yin-Yang Pass for a mission, so he had handed Dawning Light over to Feng Ying for safekeeping. By the looks of it, Dawning Light had undergone a lot of modifications and had become even more powerful.
Especially the spear artifact at the front section of Dawning Light. It was incomparably large and radiating an extraordinary aura. At a glance, it was quite obvious that it was the work of some Artifact Refining Great Grandmaster.
If this thing was activated with the power of the Array, its might would definitely be quite fearsome. It could even pose a threat to a Black Ink Clan Territory Lord. If it was powered by the Seventh-Order Masters of Dawn, they might even be able to put up a fight against a Territory Lord.
Feng Ying agreed with a nod, “That’s right, only a stronger Dawning Light can ensure the safety of its Squad members. The upgrades are worth their price.”
Yang Kai helplessly sighed, “You’re about to break through to the Eighth Order, so you should at least leave some Military Merits to exchange for cultivation resources. I also heard that you could use the Military Merits to exchange for some pointers and insights from the Eighth-Order Division Commanders. Senior Sister, you should be a little more selfish.”
Feng Ying smiled and waved her hand, “I’ve made my preparations already, you don’t need to worry about me breaking through to the Eighth Order. Besides, the Military Merits spent on modifying Dawning Light were yours. In any case, you have a lot of Military Merits.”
Yang Kai rolled his eyes at her as he laughed, “Fine, fine.”
After the two boarded the ship, the Open Heaven Realm Masters responsible for controlling Dawning Light poured their energy into the Spirit Array. The next moment, the Warship shot out into the void, leaving behind a dazzling streak of light.
Dawning Light eventually stopped in their designated area. This place was already quite far from Blue Sky Pass and even a Seventh-Order Master like Yang Kai would take about 10 days to return if he flew alone.
This place was basically the limit of Blue Sky Pass’s Universe Array’s range. This distance was extremely suitable for scouting. If they discovered the Black Ink Clan army, they could instantly return to Blue Sky Pass, allowing the Humans time to make preparations. Even if they encountered any danger, they would still have a chance to use the Universe Transference Law to escape. It could be said that they could safely fight or retreat from this location.
Yang Kai landed Dawning Light on a universe fragment before ordering his Squad members who were proficient in Spirit Arrays to set up some Concealment and Defensive Arrays.
This way, even if the Black Ink Clan were to pass by, as long as they didn’t carefully investigate, they would likely miss them. This place was now the temporary headquarters of Dawn Squad.
This arrangement could be considered perfect. They could secretly hide here and monitor the movements of the surrounding forces.
In fact, this mission wasn’t too dangerous. All they needed to do was investigate the movements of the Black Ink Clan Army.
Be that as it may, Dawn was different from the other Squads. Not only was the arrangement of its members luxurious, but Dawning Light was also special.
Dawning Light also had the Universe Array personally arranged by Yang Kai, as well as some Purifying Light sealed within its hull. Strictly speaking, Dawning Light was equivalent to a smaller-scale Purifying Black Ink Battleship.
Dawning Light provided Dawn with a far greater degree of mobility and freedom. It exponentially increased their range of activity. Other Squads simply could not match this.
After completing some basic arrangements, Yang Kai handed down a series of orders, having the Seventh-Order Masters in the Squad lead two or three Sixth-Order members further in different directions. This way, if the Black Ink Clan army were to mobilize in this region, they would be able to discover them sooner.
No one had any objections, so the Seventh-Order Open Heaven Realm Masters each chose two or three aids and dispersed.
Dawning Light’s side still needed someone to stand guard, someone powerful, so Bai Yi was left in charge. With someone as strong as Bai Yi assuming command, along with the other Dawn Squad members and Dawning Light itself, so long as they did not encounter a large number of powerful Black Ink Clansmen, dealing with them would not be a problem.
Yang Kai himself then led Miao Fei Ping and ventured in a certain direction.
As his main objective was scouting, Yang Kai didn’t choose to just rush ahead as fast as he could. If he did that, he would just be painting a target on his back. Only by flying at a moderate pace could he conceal his presence.
There were only two inconspicuous figures in this vast void, so if one didn’t carefully search for them, they wouldn’t be noticed.
“Are you nervous?” Yang Kai looked at Miao Fei Ping, who had a mix of anxiety and excitement on his face ever since they left Blue Sky Pass. It had been over 10 days since then, but he still wore the same expression.
“Ah?” It wasn’t clear what Miao Fei Ping was thinking, but when he suddenly heard Yang Kai’s question, he quickly replied, “No, I’m not nervous… but I’m curious about one thing. Some of the Senior Brothers told me that the Black Ink Clan is full of strange creatures. Disciple is very curious about what the Black Ink Clan looks like.”
Yang Kai chuckled, “Just as your Senior Brothers said, there are all kinds of strange creatures among the Black Ink Clan!”
Yang Kai had taken out Miao Fei Ping from his Small Universe to advance to the Open Heaven Realm, and it had only been a year or so since then. So, the latter’s understanding of the Black Ink Battlefield, the Great Passes, and even the Black Ink Clan was extremely limited. Although Miao Fei Ping had fought many people in Void World over the years, all his opponents were Human. Naturally, he was a little unsettled after being thrown into this kind of battlefield to fight against an alien Race, especially after listening to some information about the Black Ink Clan from his Senior Brothers in the Squad. He imagined that all of the Black Ink Clansmen had three heads and six arms and were extremely sinister and violent.
“Martial Uncle,” Miao Fei Ping humbly asked, “The Senior Brothers said that if those from the Black Ink Clan and those from the Human Race are in the same Order, the Black Ink Clansmen are generally somewhat weaker than us. And the lower the cultivation, the more obvious the gap is; is that really so?”
“En,” Yang Kai slightly nodded his agreement, “The reason why there is such a difference is because the way the two Races grow is different. Our growth is a result of many years of accumulation and hard cultivation, but the same is not true for the Black Ink Clan. They are born from the Black Ink Nests, and as long as they have enough resources and time, they can continue to grow endlessly. Although their growth does require a certain amount of time and experience, in general, it is much shorter than the time required for Humans to grow. Essentially, they rely on external forces to increase their strength.”
Miao Fei Ping suddenly came to realize, “Then their foundation should be unstable, right?”
Yang Kai pondered for a moment before replying, “You can think of it that way, but it’s not comprehensive. The gap between the two races’ Masters in the same Realm grows smaller with the increase in strength. For example, the gap between a Royal Lord and an Old Ancestor is basically non-existent, while the gap between an Eighth-Order Division Commander and a Territory Lord isn’t very large. Of course, if they were to fight one-on-one, any Eighth-Order Division Commander would have the advantage over any Territory Lord.”
Miao Fei Ping became very concerned, “Although that’s the case, the Black Ink Clan has Black Ink Nests, and from the moment they are born, their strength is comparable to the Open Heaven Realm Masters of the Human Race, so how will we be able to eliminate all of them?”
Yang Kai asked with a smile, “Who told you that the Black Ink Clan Members are as strong as Open Heaven Realm Masters since birth?”
“Isn’t that so?” Miao Fei Ping was greatly surprised.
Yang Kai shook his head in response, “Of course not.” He had more say in this matter than anyone else; after all, no one had spent as much time among the upper echelons of the Black Ink Clan or had a deeper understanding of the Black Ink Nests than him.
“The Black Ink Clansmen we encounter on the battlefield are at least Low-Rank Black Ink Clansmen. They are equivalent to our Low-Rank Open Heaven Realm Masters and are basically used as cannon fodder by the Black Ink Clan. Every time the Black Ink Clan Army goes out, Low-Rank Clansmen make up the majority of their forces on the battlefield. Any Human Master can easily wipe out a large number of Low-Rank Black Ink Clansmen with a single move. But after the deaths of these Low-Rank Black Ink Clansmen, the Black Ink Strength in their body will disperse and condense into Black Ink Clouds, which create an advantageous battlefield for the Black Ink Clan. In contrast, Humans are quite cautious of Black Ink Strength and Black Ink Clouds. Even so, we have no choice but to kill these Low-Rank Black Ink Clansmen. When the two Races fight, they will take the vanguard and charge at us, so if we don’t kill them, they will charge into our formations. So, their cannon fodder tactic is extremely effective.”
Miao Fei Ping lightly nodded and listened attentively.
“The High-Rank Black Ink Clansmen are stronger than the Low-Rank Black Ink Clansmen, equivalent to our Mid-Rank Open Heaven Realm Masters. They can be considered as the backbone of the Black Ink Clan’s Army. Although they might not be a majority, like the Low-Rank Black Ink Clansmen, their numbers are definitely not small. They pose the biggest threat to the Human Race.”
Miao Fei Ping asked in surprise, “Aren’t the greatest threats to the Human Race the Feudal Lords and Territory Lords?”
Yang Kai nodded with his assumption before explaining, “Feudal Lords and Territory Lords are indeed powerful, but how many Territory Lords do you think there can be on a single battlefield? They are often the deciding factor in battle, so they do not act recklessly. As for Feudal Lords, there are many of them, at least more than Seventh-Order Humans, but Feudal Lords cherish their lives dearly. It’s not easy for them to become Feudal Lords, so none of them want to die. They may be brave and fierce in battle, but only if the wind is blowing in their favour. Once things turn south, they run faster than anyone else.”
“So, that’s the case!” Miao Fei Ping was absorbed in his thoughts.
“These are the ones that you can see on the battlefield, but the Black Ink Clan actually has many lower-ranking clansmen who are known as Black Ink Serfs.”
“Black Ink Serfs?”
“Those who have just been born in the Black Ink Nest and cannot even be classified as Low-Rank Black Ink Clansmen are called Black Ink Serfs. They are equivalent to the Human cultivators before they reach the Open Heaven Realm. These Black Ink Serfs aren’t of much use even on the battlefield, so they are never brought to war by the Black Ink Clan. Basically all of them stay in the various territories of the Black Ink Clan and absorb ambient Black Ink Strength to strengthen themselves.”
No Human could surpass Yang Kai in terms of the understanding of the Black Ink Clan; after all, no one had been able to disguise themselves as a Black Ink Disciple and live in the Black Ink Clan’s territory for so many years. Even other Black Ink Disciples who were saved later rarely knew much about the Black Ink Clan as during their time, they were treated as servants and slaves, never trying to gather intelligence for the Human Race.
“It seems that the growth of the Black Ink Clan is not easy,” Miao Fei Ping sighed.
“Why do you say so?”
Miao Fei Ping explained, “Martial Uncle, you see, the Black Ink Clan must first be born from the Black Ink Nests becoming the weakest Black Ink Serfs. And when they somehow grow into a Low-Rank Black Ink Clansman, they are dragged to the battlefield to serve as cannon fodder. Perhaps they survive long enough to grow into a High-Rank Black Ink Clan after experiencing a few life-and-death situations, but even if they grow into a High-Rank Black Ink Clansman, if they are down on their luck, they might lose their lives on the battlefield at any moment. If they are lucky enough to survive many wars, they will finally have a chance to become a Feudal Lord.”
Yang Kai nodded his acknowledgement, “That’s right, but does that mean that our growth as Humans is easy? Which Open Heaven Realm Master hasn’t walked a thorny path and painstakingly cultivated before they could reach their current Realm? Forget about others, you yourself have gone through much trouble to reach here, haven’t you?”
Miao Fei Ping respectfully replied, “Martial Uncle is right.” He then asked again, “Martial Uncle, where are we going?”
Yang Kai stated, “Don’t ask, just follow me.”
“En,” Miao Fei Ping obediently responded.
With Dawning Light as a transit point, the Dawn Squad’s range of activity was much larger than the other Squads’. It could be said to be twice as large or even more. Naturally, this made them even more suitable for scouting missions as they could venture deeper and obtain more information.
Of course, Yang Kai also had another plan. Since Miao Fei Ping had just arrived here, he knew nothing about the Black Ink Clan. So, Yang Kai wanted to find him a few suitable opponents to practice with so that he wouldn’t become flustered on the battlefield. Although Miao Fei Ping would not be directly engaging the Black Ink Clan owing to his Sixth-Order cultivation, mostly remaining inside Dawning Light to power Spirit Arrays to kill the enemy, it did not hurt having a few exchanges with the Black Ink Clan and understand their characteristics a little.
On top of that, Miao Fei Ping had just advanced to the Open Heaven Realm not long ago, so he needed to fight to properly consolidate his cultivation.
It had been 100 years since the last war between the two Races in the Blue Sky Theatre, and the Black Ink Clan had been showing signs of deploying troops recently. In light of this, it wouldn’t be difficult to find a few Black Ink Clansmen to practice on.
The reason they hadn’t met one before was because the scattered Black Ink Clansmen didn’t dare to casually approach the Great Pass. But now, they were basically in the territory of the Black Ink Clan, so it was natural to run into them.
As expected, Yang Kai found a suitable target less than a day later.
His powerful Divine Sense allowed him to detect the approach of the nearby Black Ink Clansmen. There were several hundred of them, and their leader was a Feudal Lord.
“That’s the Black Ink Clan!?”
Hiding on an inconspicuous asteroid, Miao Fei Ping’s eyes widened as he stared at the group of Black Ink Clansmen flying across the void before his eyes, thinking to himself, [it’s just as the Senior Brothers said, the Black Ink Clan is filled with all kinds of strange creatures.]
He saw giant figures in the group of several hundred Black Ink Clansmen, some of whom were humanoid, but most had parts that looked like they were from Monster Beasts. To his surprise, there were some Black Ink Clansmen who looked exactly like a Monster Beast.
However, no matter what form they took, the bodies of these Black Ink Clansmen were all surging with Black Ink Strength. The places they passed by were stained with Black Ink Strength, as if they left spilling ink that could not be removed.
Miao Fei Ping couldn’t help but gulp as he turned to look at Yang Kai.
There were quite a lot in this Black Ink Clan team, so he didn’t know how Yang Kai was planning on dealing with them. Was he going to attack them or wait and watch?
Had Mao Fei Ping been alone, he probably wouldn’t have been able to conceal his aura at this close a distance and might have been discovered by the Black Ink Clan; however, with Yang Kai by his side and with his help, his aura had been completely concealed. Furthermore, as there was a certain distance between them, the Black Ink Clan didn’t notice two pairs of eyes watching them from the shadows.
“This should be a Feudal Lord’s private troops,” Yang Kai whispered. From his observations, he could clearly tell that there were four or five Feudal Lords in this group of several hundred Black Ink Clansmen, while the rest were High-Rank and Low-Rank Black Ink Clansmen.
This was in line with the intelligence he had obtained about Black Ink Clan Fiefs Zha Gu had shared with him.
“Where are they going?” Miao Fei Ping asked, a little puzzled. Judging by the direction this Black Ink Clan army was heading, they weren’t travelling towards Blue Sky Pass.
“They should have received some kind of order from this region’s Territory Lord to assemble with the other Feudal Lord forces before attacking Blue Sky Pass,” Yang Kai explained.
Miao Fei Ping understood, “Martial Uncle, I heard from the Senior Brothers that each Territory Lord has dozens to a few hundred Feudal Lords under their command, is that correct?”
This piece of information was brought back by Yang Kai and had long since spread throughout the various Great Passes, so it wasn’t strange for Miao Fei Ping to have learned about it from the other members of Dawn Squad.
Yang Kai affirmed, nodding, “Correct.”
Miao Fei Ping was slightly surprised, “In that case, a Territory Lord can easily gather tens of thousands of troops during a battle?”
The Feudal Lord’s troops in front of him numbered in the hundreds, so if there were one or two hundred such troops, naturally, the total would easily surpass 10,000.
Yang Kai nodded again, “If not, where do you think the millions of troops during the Black Ink Clan sieges come from? It comes from the gathering of all these Feudal Lord troops.”
Miao Fei Ping couldn’t help but gasp in shock.
How many soldiers were there in each of the Great Passes? Forget about the other Great Passes, just Blue Sky Pass only had some 30,000 cultivators in total. It was probably the same for other Great Passes too, but the Black Ink Clan had an army of at least a million strong in every Theatre.
Although he knew that most of the Black Ink Clan army was composed of cannon fodder made up of Low-Rank Clansmen, the difference in numbers was still too great.
For a time, Miao Fei Ping found it difficult to imagine just how the Human Race had managed to resist the Black Ink Clan for so many years.
If Yang Kai wanted to, he could have charged forward and killed this army of Black Ink Clansmen, but as he had Miao Fei Ping accompanying him, it wasn’t convenient for him to act; after all, he couldn’t protect Miao Fei Ping in such an environment.
As such, after watching the Feudal Lord’s troops leave and noting their direction, Yang Kai gently patted Miao Fei Ping’s shoulder, “Let’s go.”
Miao Fei Ping quickly followed after him.
Soon, he discovered that Yang Kai was moving in the opposite direction of the Feudal Lord’s troops.
He was quite sharp and guessed where they were going, “Martial Uncle, are we going to that Feudal Lord’s Fief?”
Yang Kai looked at him in surprise, “Why do you think so?”
Miao Fei Ping replied, “The Feudal Lord’s troops came from this direction, so his territory must be in this direction. Since Martial Uncle hasn’t changed directions, do you want to take advantage of his absence to storm the enemy’s den?”
Yang Kai stated meaningfully, “Not me, you!”
“Me?” Miao Fei Ping was beside himself in shock.
Yang Kai suddenly raised his head and grinned, looking towards a direction, “Just our luck, there are two Black Ink Clansmen alone, go practice with them first.”
Saying so, he reached out and grabbed Miao Fei Ping’s collar before tossing him forward while he was unprepared.
Miao Fei Ping let out a strange cry as he was instantly thrown far away. By the time he managed to stabilize himself, the two Black Ink Clansmen in front of him were staring at him with shock and ferocity.
“Human!”
“Sixth-Order!”
“Corrupt him!”
After a brief exchange, the two Black Ink Clansmen attacked Miao Fei Ping from both sides.
Miao Fei Ping’s face went pale in fright and he quickly summoned his long sword as he mobilized his strength, creating a sword curtain to ward off the attackers.
As soon as they clashed, Miao Fei Ping fell into a disadvantageous position. He discovered that these two were High-Rank Black Ink Clansmen, and each of them was comparable to a Sixth-Order Human Master.
Miao Fei Ping believed that he could easily take care of either of them in a one-on-one fight, but with both of them attacking him together, it would be difficult for him to handle. After all, he had just advanced to the Sixth Order and had only been an Emperor Realm a year ago. As such, he wasn’t very proficient in utilizing his Open Heaven Realm strength yet.
The two Black Ink Clan Masters didn’t employ any tactics, they just kept bombarding him with Secret Techniques using their Black Ink Strength, aiming to overwhelm him. What caused Miao Fei Ping even more pressure was that the Black Ink Strength was actually invading his Small Universe, forcing him to divert some of his attention and strength to resist its corrosion.
No matter what others had told Miao Fei Ping about the Black Ink Clan, facing them first-hand was far more informative than any evaluations he had heard before.
Miao Fei Ping finally understood what kind of enemies the Human Race had been fighting for countless years.
He couldn’t sense his Martial Uncle’s aura, nor could he find his figure, but he knew that his Martial Uncle was definitely hiding somewhere close by, so he knew that his life was not in danger.
Thinking so, Miao Fei Ping became more daring.
Taking advantage of one of the Black Ink Clansman’s mistakes in coordination, the sword in Miao Fei Ping’s hands flashed as he rushed forward, his figure wrapped in sword light. His momentum was unstoppable, as if he wanted to perish together with this Black Ink Clansman.
The targeted Black Ink Clansman was shocked. He had never imagined Miao Fei Ping would suddenly become so fierce, as if he had turned into a completely different person. Unable to react in time, he was stabbed in the head by the sword and died on the spot.
However, the other Black Ink Clansman’s attack was already upon Miao Fei Ping, who was now completely powerless to defend himself. The sudden death of his companion had enraged this Black Ink Clansman, so he didn’t show any mercy.
A Black Ink Disciple might be precious, but he still needed to be alive to enjoy having him. Basically, he was not completely sure that he would be able to corrupt Miao Fei Ping without his companion’s help.
Since he was not 100% certain, he could only send Miao Fei Ping to his grave.
However, the space around him suddenly solidified, causing his massive body to freeze on the spot. Although it was only a brief moment, he had missed the opportunity to kill his opponent.
Miao Fei Ping had already steadied himself and the sword in his hand glowed with an exquisite aura as his figure moved, flying up and down around the Black Ink Clansman, drawing blood with every strike.
He knew that his Martial Uncle must have secretly taken action just now; otherwise, it would have been impossible for him to block the attack of the second Black Ink Clansman.
Be that as it may, his Martial Uncle clearly had no intention of interfering further, and this was exactly what he wanted. Flowers grown in a greenhouse could not withstand the harsh winds and rain of the outside world and were destined to not live long. Only after experiencing real storms would they be able to thrive.
Although he was only a newly promoted Sixth-Order Open Heaven Realm Master, Miao Fei Ping’s confidence had greatly increased after his first kill. Moreover, he was quickly adapting to his strength during this life-and-death struggle.
As such, an incense stick after the death of the first Black Ink Clansman, the second followed in his companion’s footsteps.
Miao Fei Ping stood in the void with his sword in hand, his face slightly pale and his aura a little unstable.
Killing two High-Rank Black Ink Clansmen who were comparable to Sixth-Order Open Heaven Realm Masters was quite exhausting, and it took a clear toll on him.
Yang Kai suddenly appeared in front of him and lightly nodded his acknowledgement, “Not bad.”
Miao Fei Ping withdrew his sword and humbly stated, “Martial Uncle is too kind. If it weren’t for Martial Uncle secretly taking action, this Disciple would have already died. However, Martial Uncle, this Disciple seems to have been invaded by Black Ink Strength and is unable to suppress it.”
“I know,” Yang Kai slightly nodded. Miao Fei Ping’s entire body was shrouded in a thick layer of Black Ink Strength and the dark look in his eyes could not be hidden, “There’s no need to suppress it, just open yourself and allow it in.”
Miao Fei Ping was slightly startled, but he still complied.
In less than a dozen breaths of time, Miao Fei Ping suddenly let out a shout before thrusting his sword at Yang Kai with a flick of his wrist.
Yang Kai smiled lightly and caught the longsword between his fingers. Miao Fei Ping roared as he tried to pull his sword back, but it didn’t budge in the slightest. He decisively let go of the sword and rushed forward like a madman, punching at Yang Kai, fist images blotting out the void before he even reached his target.
Yang Kai simply waved his hand and the fist shadows filling the void disappeared like the Moon’s reflection in the water.
Surprisingly, Miao Fei Ping had disappeared from Yang Kai’s sight. He had already fled into the distance the moment he swung his fists. His speed was extremely fast. It appeared his fierce attack was just a cover for his escape.
Yang Kai grinned and muttered, “Smart choice!”
Be that as it may, trying to escape from him was destined to be futile.
Yang Kai used his Space Principles, and under the effects of Near Distant Horizon, Miao Fei Ping suddenly froze in place, seemingly unable to escape even half a step further.
Yang Kai slowly strolled over to Miao Fei Ping’s back. His palms glowed with two different colours before he brought them together, releasing a burst of Purifying Light.
Under the Purifying Light, the Black Ink Strength started dispersing with sizzling sounds as Miao Fei Ping’s expression changed from pained to calm.
When the Black Ink Strength was finally dispersed completely and Miao Fei Ping regained his sanity, he found that his clothes were drenched in sweat.
“How do you feel?” Yang Kai asked.
Miao Fei Ping had a look of lingering fear on his face, “Like I’ve awoken from a bad dream!”
Yang Kai nodded, “Every Black Ink Disciple says so when they wake up. Remember this feeling, this is what it’s like to be corrupted by Black Ink Strength. In the Black Ink Disciples’ hearts, the Black Ink Clan is supreme, and the Human Race is nothing to them.”
Miao Fei Ping broke into a cold sweat, “Disciple will remember this lesson well. In the future, I will definitely not let myself be corrupted into a Black Ink Disciple and become a slave to the Black Ink Clan.” Pausing for a moment, he apologized, “Disciple was disrespectful to Martial Uncle just now, please forgive me.”
Yang Kai waved off in response, “It would have been stranger if you hadn’t attacked me.”
The two of them continued on their way.
The Feudal Lord’s Fief wasn’t far away. A dark and gloomy Universe World appeared in Yang Kai’s field of vision a day later. This Universe World wasn’t big, but the entire world was shrouded in a thick layer of Black Ink Strength, which happened to be particularly dense in one spot.
Through the obstruction, one could vaguely see a Black Ink Nest standing in that direction.
There were many Black Ink Clansmen near the Black Ink Nest.
Yang Kai led Miao Fei Ping straight towards the Black Ink Nest. Before reaching the Black Ink Nest, Miao Fei Ping took out a Purifying Black Ink Pill and stuffed it into his mouth, holding it under his tongue so that he could crunch it at any moment, after receiving Yang Kai’s signal.
Although Yang Kai could cure him with Purifying Light, Yang Kai had his own plans. He couldn’t take care of Miao Fei Ping all the time, so preparing a Purifying Black Ink Pill in advance was the better choice.
Yang Kai didn’t try to hide himself. He broke straight through the thick Black Ink Clouds and crashed into the ground near the Black Ink Nest as if he had fallen from the sky. His powerful landing sent the ground quaking. The impact caused the surrounding Black Ink Clansmen to be blown away while the weaker Black Ink Serfs even suffered heavy casualties.
The two Feudal Lords who had been guarding this Fief noticed this and immediately flew out from their respective residences.
These two Feudal Lords were not necessarily the Masters of this place. The Black Ink Clan might have many Feudal Lords, but not all of them actually had their own Fiefs. At most a few dozen Feudal Lords had the qualifications to own their own Fiefs under each Territory Lord. The Feudal Lords who owned these Fiefs were undoubtedly rich and powerful.
Those without Fiefs would either find a place to live in the territory of some Territory Lord or seek refuge with those with Fiefs.
This way, they could become stronger using the Black Ink Strength spilling from the Black Ink Nest.
Such a situation was common in the Black Ink Clan, so a mature Feudal Lord’s Fief did not just have one Feudal Lord. Of course, the Master of a Black Ink Nest would always be the one who hatched it.
When the two Feudal Lords guarding the Black Ink Nest rushed out and spotted Yang Kai and Miao Fei Ping, they were stunned.
[Humans!?]
[Humans are actually here!?]
[What’s going on?]
Although it wasn’t as if the Humans had never attacked the Black Ink Clan’s territory before, every time the Humans did so they had sent a massive army, never just two of them.
Therefore, when they saw Yang Kai and Miao Fei Ping, these two Feudal Lords worried that the Human Army had arrived. However, after carefully examining their surroundings, they failed to find any traces of other Humans. There were just these two.
The Feudal Lord on the left immediately shouted, “You arrogant Humans, how dare you disdain us!”
The one on the right was relatively quiet, but his movements were as swift as the wind. As his companion shouted, he rushed towards Yang Kai and Black Ink Strength surrounded his giant palm as he ruthlessly slapped down.
Miao Fei Ping hurriedly dodged. Although he had killed two High-Rank Black Ink Clansmen, he knew that this kind of battle was not something he could interfere with.
After fleeing 1,000 metres, when Miao Fei Ping looked back, what he saw next shook him to the core.
He saw his Martial Uncle holding a spear in one hand, while its other end was stabbed into the Feudal Lord’s head. The imposing Feudal Lord happened to be completely stiff and a look of disbelief had blanketed his face.
With a flick of his spear, the Feudal Lord’s head exploded into mist as his massive body fell to the ground, blood gushing out from his severed neck like a fountain.
An instant kill!
Miao Fei Ping couldn’t believe his eyes. A Feudal Lord had been instantly slain by his Martial Uncle!
He didn’t even notice his Martial Uncle using some mighty Secret Technique, as if just a casual spear thrust had deprived the Black Ink Clansman of his life. The Feudal Lord, who he thought was strong and imposing, was as weak as a chicken in front of his Martial Uncle.
On the way here, the members of Dawn Squad had told him that their Squad Leader’s strength was far superior to an ordinary Seventh-Order Open Heaven Realm Master, and he had even cooperated with others to kill Territory Lords.
But hearing it was one thing and seeing it with his own eyes was completely different.
Miao Fei Ping finally understood the gravity of this evaluation.
His Marital Uncle wasn’t just stronger than normal, his strength was simply unparalleled!
In terms of Order, a Feudal Lord was equivalent to a Seventh-Order Human. Although they would be somewhat weaker than a Seventh-Order Master under normal circumstances, a Feudal Lord was still a Feudal Lord. Even so, this Feudal Lord was instantly killed by his Martial Uncle.
[Just what kind of height has Martial Uncle’s combat strength reached?]
Miao Fei Ping had no idea, but he couldn’t afford to think too much about it at this moment. Many Black Ink Clansmen were rushing towards him, so he summoned his sword and activated his Movement Technique, turning around and charging at them.
Fortunately, the Black Ink Clansmen attacking him weren’t very strong. Even if there were High-Rank Clansmen among their ranks, their strength was only equivalent to a Fourth-Order or Fifth-Order Human Master. With his current Sixth-Order Open Heaven Realm foundation, even if Miao Fei Ping were to fight one against many, he was barely able to hold out. Of course, if the battle dragged on, it would be difficult to say what the outcome would be.
It wasn’t surprising for such a situation to occur. Most of the forces capable of fighting in this territory had been taken away by the Master of this Fief, so the ones left behind were naturally younger, or weaker, so how strong could they be?
He understood his Martial Uncle’s intentions. Obviously, Yang Kai wanted to use this opportunity to sharpen him and familiarize him with the battle against the Black Ink Clan so that he wouldn’t falter or become flustered on the real battlefield.
This was a rare opportunity, so Miao Fei Ping treasured it greatly. Furthermore, he didn’t want to disappoint his Martial Uncle’s expectations, so he put his heart into it, attentively applying everything he had learned in his life.
On the other hand, when Yang Kai killed the charging Feudal Lord with a single thrust, it shocked the other Feudal Lord to the core!
After becoming a Feudal Lord, their understanding of the Human Race was no longer something that those cannon fodder could compare with. He had participated in the siege of Blue Sky Pass several times and had witnessed various Seventh-Order Open Heaven Realm Masters’ methods and Secret Techniques on the battlefield.
However, there had never been a Seventh-Order Master who gave him such an ominous feeling. This must be one of those Seventh-Order Human elites, and judging from the casual way he killed his comrade, probably only a Territory Lord could take him down.
Therefore, after seeing his companion die, this Feudal Lord decisively released a burst of Black Ink Strength before transforming into seven or eight identical figures that rushed out in all directions. One of them even rushed straight towards Yang Kai, wanting to stall for time.
Yang Kai looked around, slightly taken aback.
The Secret Technique of this Feudal Lord was quite interesting. It was obviously derived from some kind of escape technique of the Human Race. In fact, many of the Black Ink Clan’s tactics and Secret Techniques could be traced back to the Humans. After all, during the countless years of war between the two races, the Black Ink Clan had been learning and improving.
If it were any other Seventh-Order Master, he or she might not have any idea what to do in the face of this escape technique. But unfortunately, this kind of trick was useless against Yang Kai.
With a flick of his spear, Yang Kai dispersed the figure that was pouncing towards him. The figure immediately transformed into a thick wave of Black Ink Strength that enveloped Yang Kai, attempting to corrupt his Small Universe. Be that it may, Yang Kai didn’t care about this kind of attack at all. A golden vertical eye suddenly appeared in his left eye. The Demon Eye of Annihilation immediately allowed him to see through all illusions.
Most of the figures were created using Black Ink Strength to divert Yang Kai’s attention, but only one of them was the true body of the Feudal Lord.
This Feudal Lord’s Secret Technique wasn’t bad, but he had not perfectly mastered it, so his flaws became obvious under the Demon Eye of Annihilation’s gaze.
Space Principles surged and a certain figure suddenly froze before an extremely dangerous aura shot towards it from behind.
The Feudal Lord hurriedly looked back and was frightened out of his wits! Much to his surprise, the Human was still standing in the same spot, but had hurled the long spear in his hand at him. The long spear seemed to ignore the limits of space and arrived instantly at its target.
To his dismay, the Feudal Lord discovered that no matter how he tried to dodge this attack, he was unable to. The spear seemed to have locked onto him.
In his panic, he roared as a tangible sound wave swept out in all directions. It seemed to have some kind of repulsive effect, but the spear still did not slow down at all and easily broke through his Black Ink Strength defences, leaving a hole in his chest.
The Feudal Lord went stiff, as if struck by lightning.
The next moment, the long spear flew back into Yang Kai’s hand. Yang Kai did not even spare the Feudal Lord a glance and just walked towards the Black Ink Nest.
Yang Kai’s contemptuous attitude made the Feudal Lord feel both sad and angry. He raised his hand, trying his best to grab Yang Kai, but as soon as he used his Black Ink Strength, his entire body exploded into a blood mist, leaving not even his bones behind.
The two Feudal Lords had only taken a single attack from Yang Kai each before dying on the spot, a testament to the latter’s great strength.
Although Yang Kai could also do this over twenty years ago, it was even easier for him to do so now.
After returning from Yin-Yang Pass and entering retreat for so many years, not only had his cultivation improved, but he had also gained a deeper understanding of the Spear Dao and the Dao of Space. Now, he was able to integrate these two Grand Daos into a single spear strike. When he attacked with the Azure Dragon Spear, space around it froze, making it impossible to avoid. This was the biggest reason why the two Feudal Lords were so vulnerable.
His comprehension of his own Grand Daos allowed Yang Kai’s combat strength to rise to a whole new level.
Once the two Feudal Lords who had remained behind in the Fief died, the remaining Black Ink Clansmen fell into a panic. Although there were still some who were attacking Miao Fei Ping, most of the Black Ink Clansmen were now fleeing as fast as they could, afraid that they would be buried together with the Feudal Lords if they were too slow.
Yang Kai casually killed some of them who were in his way, but didn’t pursue the ones who fled.
These lower Black Ink Clansmen were simply too massive in number, so he could not kill them all in short order. There was no need to waste time here.
His goal was the Low-Rank Black Ink Nest.
The Void Dao Temple had already been founded for over 100 years, and all of the talented seedlings in Void World had been sent there to cultivate. In the future, these people would definitely be able to break through to the Open Heaven Realm and become a force that would resist the Black Ink Clan.
Miao Fei Ping’s performance was undoubtedly excellent. Although he had only come into contact with the Black Ink Clan for a short time, he had become familiar with how to fight them after killing the previous two High-Rank Black Ink Clansmen and was now chasing after the fleeing Low-Rank Black Ink Clansmen.
However, circumstances and environment affected one’s temperament greatly. Perhaps the disciples of the Void Dao Temple were talented in terms of cultivation, but if they really faced the Black Ink Clan, it was difficult to say how each of them would fare.
Perhaps many people would be intimidated when they first came face to face with this kind of fiendish and hostile alien race. So, how could they have the courage to fight them?
Yang Kai wanted to let them familiarize themselves with how to fight the Black Ink Clan while they were still in their early growth period, so that when they advanced to the Open Heaven Realm, they could directly enter the war on the Black Ink Battlefield.
Since Yang Kai wanted these young disciples to familiarize themselves with how to fight the Black Ink Clan, he naturally had to have some kind of control over the situation. The Black Ink Clan was born from Black Ink Nests, so Yang Kai figured all he needed to do was get his hands on one. Yang Kai now only hated himself for not having enough foresight and simply destroying so many Black Ink Nests in Mu Guang’s Royal Domain.
Fortunately, he could still salvage the situation.
The reason he had come to this area under the Black Ink Clan’s control was because he had set his eyes on this Black Ink Nest. As for whether he could take it into his own Small Universe, Yang Kai wasn’t certain.
Back then, he had personally witnessed Zha Gu hatching a Black Ink Nest and had some understanding of its various characteristics; so, he knew that it would be difficult to implement this plan.
There were still some Black Ink Clansmen inside the Black Ink Nest, but Yang Kai quickly cleaned them up.
He then opened his Small Universe, allowing the Black Ink Nest to devour his World Force. Then, using the Black Ink Nest’s Will as a medium, Yang Kai’s consciousness instantly entered a strange space.
This space was formed by the Will of this region’s Territory Lord Black Ink Nest, and at this moment, there were no less than 30 consciousnesses gathered in this space. These consciousnesses were surging, obviously communicating with one another.
The Black Ink Clan of the Blue Sky Theatre had not experienced the tragedy in Mu Guang’s Royal Domain, so they were completely unaware of what would happen next. So, when Yang Kai used his Spiritual Energy to attack them, they didn’t even have time to react.
The consciousnesses were destroyed in an instant; after all, Yang Kai’s Spiritual Energy was on par with a Territory Lord’s, meaning none of these Black Ink Clansmen were a match for him.
When the commotion started, the remaining consciousnesses immediately sensed that something was wrong and naturally pushed their strength to attack Yang Kai.
Yang Kai did not fear this counterattack. The situation he had encountered in the Mu Guang’s Royal Domain could not be compared with what he was experiencing now. At that time, Hei Yuan’s Will had also been lying in ambush for him, together with over 30 Feudal Lords, but in the end, Hei Yuan failed to kill him and his Soul had even been severely wounded, forcing him to retreat.
If it weren’t for this, Hei Yuan wouldn’t have been chased down by a mere Seventh-Order Human Master.
As a result, after Yang Kai’s rampage, the consciousnesses here suffered heavy casualties, and as many as 8 Feudal Lords had their consciousnesses destroyed, with those of several other High-Rank Black Ink Clansmen were also wiped out.
The destruction of these consciousnesses also signified the fall of these Black Ink Clansmen.
The surviving consciousnesses realized that something was horribly wrong and no longer dared to remain. They quickly scattered like birds and beasts in a wildfire, only thinking of escaping.
Yang Kai was unable to chase them all down and could only helplessly sigh as they fled.
Destroying the consciousnesses of a few Feudal Lords was just a matter of course, but that was not Yang Kai’s original plan. After a while, he withdrew his consciousness and exited the Black Ink Nest.
His Divine Sense surged like a tide as he probed the foundation of the Black Ink Nest.
The Black Ink Nest in front of him was thousands of metres tall, like a giant flower bud planted in the ground. It was the typical size of a fully mature Low-Rank Black Ink Nest, but under Yang Kai’s investigation, he realized that its foundation stretched far further.
The entire Universe World was enveloped in the power of this Black Ink Nest. If the Black Ink Nest before him was like a giant tree, then its roots were spread across the entire World.
If Yang Kai wanted to take this Black Ink Nest into his Small Universe, he would have to take this entire Universe World.
This Universe World was not big, but even Yang Kai was unable to take it into his Small Universe.
He already knew this would be the case though and had no intention of taking away the entire Black Ink Nest.
As Space Principles surged and the Void shattered, the roots of the Black Ink Nest were severed one by one, and with the Black Ink Nest as a centre, an area with a radius of over a dozen kilometres was excised from the Universe World.
The next moment, a gateway opened as Yang Kai’s Divine Sense enveloped the landmass with the Black Ink Nest on it, forcefully dragging it into his Small Universe.
This sudden change quaked the entire Universe World.
Yang Kai immersed his consciousness into his Small Universe, but almost immediately, a disappointed look appeared on his face.
He had indeed moved the entire Black Ink Nest into his Small Universe, but perhaps because its roots had been cut off, or perhaps because of some other reason, the Black Ink Nest began to show signs of withering. Even when Yang Kai poured his World Force into it, the Black Ink Nest showed no signs of devouring it.
This was unusual, as Black Ink Nests devoured World Force almost instinctively.
The World Force was a powerful tonic for the Black Ink Nest, but since it was not even devouring a bit of World Force, it undoubtedly meant that it had ceased functioning and was doomed to die.
In fact, after the entire Black Ink Nest was pulled into his Small Universe by Yang Kai, it started collapsing at a speed visible to the naked eye. In less than the time one takes to drink half a cup of tea, it completely withered.
This situation caused Yang Kai to frown. It seemed that taking a Black Ink Nest wasn’t going to be an easy task.
But if he could obtain an unhatched Black Ink Nest, he might be able to hatch it in his Small Universe. There wouldn’t be any problems then.
Be that as it may, unhatched Black Ink Nests were extremely precious even to the Black Ink Clan, so how could Yang Kai obtain one? Unless he could find a Mid-Rank Black Ink Nest and provide it with a massive quantity of materials, it was impossible to get an unhatched nest.
However, this place was not Mu Guang’s Royal Domain, so searching for and entering a Mid-Rank Black Ink Nest would be extremely risky.
The reason Yang Kai had been able to stir up so much chaos in Mu Guang’s Royal Domain last time was firstly because the bulk of the Black Ink Clan Army was engaged in battle with the Human Army, and secondly, the Yin-Yang Pass Old Ancestor had made a move and forced all the remaining Territory Lords who had stayed behind to rush to the Royal Lords’ aid, leaving just Hei Yuan to deal with Yang Kai. Once Yang Kai heavily damaged Hei Yuan’s Soul, he basically had free reign.
The right time, right place, and right conditions made it possible for Yang Kai to act recklessly in Mu Guang’s Royal Domain without anyone to stop him. If even one point was different, he would not have been able to act so brazenly. Even so, in the end, he was unable to destroy more than 10 Mid-Rank Black Ink Nest.
In the Blue Sky Theatre, the Black Ink Clan Army was currently gathering, so there were definitely Territory Lords guarding this place. If Yang Kai tried to wreak havoc, he would attract the attention of those Territory Lords. Not many Territory Lords needed to take action, just two would be enough to threaten him. Once two Territory Lords came at him, even if Yang Kai was proficient in the Dao of Space, he might not be able to escape unscathed.
Yang Kai could not bear such a risk; therefore, he didn’t insist on sticking to his plan of plundering a Black Ink Nest after this attempt failed.
There was still time before the young talents in his Small Universe matured, so he was in no rush for now. It wouldn’t be too late to think of a solution later.
Miao Fei Ping had already returned with his body covered in multiple wounds. Apparently, he had killed many Black Ink Clansmen in this short period of time. His appearance might have been miserable, but he was still filled with zeal and vigour. Furthermore, because of the Purifying Black Ink Pill, he didn’t have to worry about being corrupted by Black Ink Strength for a short time.
“Martial Uncle, since the Black Ink Clan has fled, should we pursue them?” Miao Fei Ping asked eagerly. Obviously, he still did not have enough of the slaughter.
“There’s no need for that, they’re all Low-Rank Black Ink Clansmen. It’s useless to kill them, we will only be wasting time,” Yang Kai indifferently replied.
“Oh, then where are we going?”
Yang Kai pondered for a moment before turning his eyes in the direction they had come from, “You should return to Dawning Light to rest.”
“What about Martial Uncle?” Miao Fei Ping asked.
Yang Kai replied with a smile, “I’m going fishing.”
“Fishing?” Miao Fei Ping was puzzled.
Nonetheless, Yang Kai didn’t pay any heed to it and just stuffed something into his hand, “Take this with you, don’t put it into your Space Ring.”
Miao Fei Ping grabbed it and found that it was a bead, but he had no idea what it was for. So, he asked, “Martial Uncle, what is this?”
“A Space Beacon! With this bead, I can send messages back to you at any time.”
Miao Fei Ping nodded before carefully pocketing the Space Beacon.
“Go.” Yang Kai waved at him.
Miao Fei Ping stated, cupping his fist, “Disciple will go now, Martial Uncle. Please be careful.”
While speaking, he activated the Universe Transference Law. The next moment, a giant Spirit Array glowed beneath his feet before his figure disappeared with a blinding flash.
By the time he reappeared, Miao Fei Ping had already returned to Dawning Light. Walking out of the Universe Array, Bai Yi, who had already sensed the movements, immediately came forward to meet him. However, after seeing Miao Fei Ping alone, she couldn’t help but ask curiously, “Where’s Squad Leader?”
Miao Fei Ping scratched his head, “Martial Uncle said he was going fishing.”
“Fishing?” Bai Yi was puzzled, “Fishing for what?”
Miao Fei Ping shook his head, “I don’t know either, Martial Uncle didn’t explain in detail and only told me to return here.”
Bai Yi slightly furrowed her brow. She faintly felt that Yang Kai was going to cause trouble again; however, since Yang Kai didn’t say anything, he probably had his own considerations. Seeing Miao Fei Ping’s miserable appearance, she couldn’t help but ask, “Did you run into the Black Ink Clan?”
Miao Fei Ping immediately replied in an excited tone, “Martial Uncle brought me to take a Low-Rank Black Ink Nest.”
Speaking of this, he was quite enthused. This was the first time he had gone on a mission with his Martial Uncle, yet he had accomplished such a great feat. It was not something just anyone could easily encounter.
As expected, the other Squad members also became interested after hearing this and began asking questions. Miao Fei Ping didn’t try to hide anything and told them everything about his short trip with Yang Kai, causing all the Squad members to look at him with envy. When they heard that two Feudal Lords were unable to resist the might of Yang Kai’s spear and were instantly killed, all the remaining Squad members felt their spirits soar.
Having a powerful Squad Leader was extremely important on the Black Ink Battlefield. Whether it was the success rate of the mission or the survival rate on the chaotic battlefield, a powerful Squad Leader greatly increased these chances.
The Squad Leader was the core of the entire Squad, and also the basis for Human Squads to work together on the Black Ink Battlefield.
While Dawn Squad’s members were getting all excited, Yang Kai’s lonesome figure flickered as he sped through the void in the direction of the Feudal Lord troop he had discovered earlier.
Being alone, Yang Kai no longer had any scruples. He used Space Principles as his figure flickered across the void.
In less than half a day, Yang Kai found a large group of Black Ink Clansmen gathered on a giant universe fragment.
Standing and observing from afar, Yang Kai found that there were more than 100,000 Black Ink Clansmen gathered on this universe fragment.
This place could basically be considered the periphery of the Black Ink Clan’s territory, not far from the Human Race’s territory. With so many Black Ink Clansmen gathered here, the situation was quite obvious.
This should be one of the mustering points of the Black Ink Clan Army. The Feudal Lords had converged here with their troops under a Territory Lord’s orders; otherwise, it would have been impossible for such a large group to be assembled together.
The Black Ink Clan had indeed become restless. Nearly 100 years of rest and recuperation had given them plenty of time to recover from their losses suffered in the last war. Since they had gathered an army here, it was obvious that they were planning to stage a comeback.
Over 100,000 Black Ink Clansmen were gathered on a universe fragment. It was quite a magnificent sight. Not only that, but Black Ink Clansmen kept coming from all directions in groups of hundreds to thousands.
Obviously, each group was a Feudal Lord leading his troops.
There was no doubt that this place was one of the rally points of the Black Ink Clan Army. And judging by the scale of the Black Ink Clan army in front of him, it was definitely gathered under the command of several Territory Lords.
In fact, Yang Kai could faintly sense that there were at least five Territory Lords in this Army even from this distance.
Of course, this was not the entirety of the Black Ink Clan Army. Armies were definitely being gathered at other places even now.
Every time the Black Ink Clan attacked, it had millions of soldiers in its Army. If they didn’t have so many, the Humans wouldn’t have to fight so hard.
As a scout, Yang Kai naturally carried out his mission faithfully. Very soon, he sent a jade slip detailing everything he had seen back to Dawning Light via the Space Beacon, and with Dawning Light as a relay point, this information was sent back to Blue Sky Pass, allowing the Army Commanders to obtain the information right away.
Yang Kai remained completely still, paying close attention to the movements of the 100,000-strong Black Ink Clan Army.
Since there was such a large rally point here, there wouldn’t be a second one nearby. The other rally points of the Black Ink Clan Army would be the other scouting Squads’ concern.
The size of the Army continued to increase with time, gradually approaching 200,000. If one Territory Lord could gather twenty to 30,000 soldiers, the number of Territory Lords gathered here would be close to 10.
This was also in line with the current situation. Every time the Black Ink Clan launched a siege, at least four Armies would attack from four different directions at the same time, forcing the Human Race to defend the Great Pass in all cardinal directions. Any negligence in any direction could lead to a complete loss.
Gradually, fewer and fewer Black Ink Clansmen arrived. Apparently, most of them had already gathered. Nonetheless, the Black Ink Clan Army didn’t seem to have any intention of immediately setting out and instead remained stationed on the universe fragment.
Yang Kai presumed that they were waiting for the other Armies to act together.
Although there were over 200,000 of them, if they were to attack the Great Pass with just this much force, they would not be able to cause any real damage. As such, the Black Ink Clan had to prepare all of their forces and attack from all sides in order to overwhelm the Humans.
After sending the last message to Dawning Light, Yang Kai flew out of his hiding place, heading straight for the universe fragment.
After observing for some time, Yang Kai concluded that the size of the Black Ink Clan Army at this rally point wouldn’t increase much further. Presumably, it wouldn’t be long before they attacked Blue Sky Pass; hence, there was no need to continue observing.
He didn’t try to conceal himself, so the Black Ink Clansmen on the universe fragment soon discovered his tracks. The streak of light cutting through the void was extremely eye-catching, so it immediately sent the Black Ink Clansmen on the universe fragment into an uproar.
Some of the impatient Feudal Lords had already rushed out, leading their subordinates straight at Yang Kai.
Yang Kai suddenly stopped, quickly turned around and fled, acting like a Human cultivator who had accidentally run into the Black Ink Clan Army and was fleeing in panic.
How could the pursuing Black Ink Clansmen let this matter go so easily? They chased after him like a shadow, hot on his tail, soon disappearing together with Yang Kai.
Many Black Ink Clansmen on the universe fragment saw this scene from afar, but most of them remained indifferent, while a few of them even sneered. In their opinion, things were not going to end well for the Human cultivator who had rashly ventured here alone.
However, what surprised them was that the seemingly lost Human cultivator once again flew towards them after half an hour or so, leaving a dazzling trail as he cut through the void. It was quite eye-catching.
On the other hand, the several hundred Black Ink Clansmen who had chased after him were nowhere to be seen.
This shocked the Black Ink Clansmen who witnessed this scene. They were unable to understand how this Human had managed to escape unscathed. And where did their fellow clansmen who had pursued him go?
What was even more hateful was that when the Human came over, he would first fly straight and then saunter left and right like he was enjoying the view. His movements had a thick sense of provocation.
How could they tolerate this?
In the blink of an eye, an army of several hundred Black Ink Clansmen surrounded the Human under the leadership of their respective Feudal Lords.
Just like before, the Human fled, while several Black Ink Clan teams gave chase, gradually disappearing into the distance.
At a certain spot on the universe fragment, a Territory Lord stared deeply in the direction Yang Kai had fled in, “The Human Race must have set up some kind of ambush over there. These idiots are probably dead.”
The Territory Lords weren’t fools. Yang Kai had tried to provoke them at close range twice, so how could they not see through his intentions?
Another Territory Lord coldly snorted, “The Humans have become quite bold recently. They wouldn’t have acted like this in the past. What gives them the confidence to dare come here and provoke us like this?”
Another Territory Lord added, “Regardless of the reason, the Humans seem to have undergone great changes in the last 100 years. You should have heard the news of what happened at Mu Guang’s Royal Domain, right?”
A Territory Lord agreed with a nod, “I heard that the Human Race has developed something called Purifying Black Ink Pills that can dispel the corrosion of Black Ink Strength. That is not good news.”
“However, this also explains why there haven’t been any new Black Ink Disciples for so long! Although the Human Race’s Purifying Black Ink Pills are troublesome, their disadvantage in numbers will never change. For the Human Race to dare set up an ambush so far outside their Pass in these conditions is extremely stupid.”
“You mean…” One of the Territory Lords thoughtfully looked at him.
The Territory Lord who had just spoken chuckled, “Unlike my Black Ink Clan, if any of the Human cultivators were to die, the Humans would feel the loss. Since they dared to set up an ambush outside the Pass, we might as well beat them at their own game and try to eat them up.”
“But do you know how many Masters the Human Race has there?”
The Territory Lord stated, “This place is about a dozen days away from their Great Pass, so how many people could the Humans have sent here? And since our Black Ink Clan Army is preparing to attack, they are definitely preparing to defend as well. Even if they have sent a team to ambush us, it shouldn’t be too big. If I’ve to guess, there should be a number of elites, but would our Army of 200,000 not be able to handle such a small number of people?”
Many Territory Lords were moved by his words.
Even though it should only be a small team of Human Masters, if they could really kill these Masters here, it would be enough to make the Humans’ hearts bleed for a long time. In fact, after every war between the two Races, the casualties on humanity’s side might not even be as great as this. Furthermore, just as the Territory Lord had said, since the Humans dared to set up an ambush outside the Pass, they must have sent quite a number of elites. If they took this opportunity to eliminate them, the Humans would suffer a huge loss.
“There must be an Eighth-Order Division Commander among them. If we can kill one or two Eighth-Order Humans, heh heh… we’ll have avenged the Royal Lord and cleansed ourselves of our most recent shame!”
All the Territory Lords nodded in agreement.
One of the Territory Lords stated, “If we are really going to take action, we need to figure out the position and strength of the Human ambushers. Any volunteers?”
A short, humanoid-looking Territory Lord stood up and smiled, taking the initiative to volunteer, “I’ll go.”
One of the Territory Lords added, nodding, “You’re perfect for this job. That Human should not have gone far, so you’ll be able to catch up to him without much effort. However, you must be careful not to fall into a trap.”
“Rest assured, how could this Lord die before the Humans are destroyed?”
Saying so, he soared into the sky. Who knows what kinds of Secret Technique he cultivated, but his Territory Lord aura had been suppressed to the extreme. Coupled with his humanoid form, it would be difficult for ordinary people to find him.
He was really fast. After chasing the fleeing Human for a while, he soon felt violent energy fluctuations coming from the front. Obviously, someone was fighting up ahead.
Combined with the previous scene, this Territory Lord had already guessed this would be the case and immediately restrained his aura further to stealthily approach the battlefield.
A moment later, when he finally arrived at the periphery of the battlefield and gazed ahead, he couldn’t help but stare in shock.
All the Territory Lords had come to the conclusion that the Humans must have set up an ambush; otherwise, they could not explain why the several hundred troops that had chased after the Human had disappeared so quickly.
He had chased after the Human because he wanted to check up on the position and size of the Humans lying in ambush so that he could formulate a corresponding strategy.
But he did not find a Human ambush. Rather it was just that one Human who had lured the Black Ink Clan troops away before killing everyone who chased him with his spear.
This Human might have been alone, but he was like a reaper of death, slaughtering the Feudal Lord troops like they were nothing.
[How could this Human be so strong?]
The Territory Lord clearly saw a Feudal Lord quietly approaching this Human from behind, attempting to launch a sneak attack, but in the end, he was pierced by a spear before he could even react.
In less than the time it took for an incense stick to burn, nearly 30% of the Feudal Lord troops had been killed. The Human was covered in blood and radiating intense killing intent, but the blood was all black. The long spear in his hands had reached the acme of perfection. Every time he thrust out, the lives of several Black Ink Clansmen would be reaped.
At this rate, it would only be a matter of time before he had finished all of them.
This person is definitely an elite among elites of the Human Race!
For a moment, the Territory Lord couldn’t help but have an intent to kill. This Human couldn’t be allowed to grow anymore. He was already so strong in the Seventh Order, so if broke through to the Eighth Order, none of the Territory Lords could resist him.
But just as he was about to act, he couldn’t help but recall his mission.
He still had not discovered the location and number of the Human Race ambushers, and rashly attacking this Human would only alert the enemy. Furthermore, he could not figure out what was going on in this Human’s mind. Since he had lured out a few Feudal Lord troops, why was he fighting them alone instead of surrounding them?
[Does he think that he alone can take care of this, so he decided not to lure the enemy any further?]
With this thought in mind, the Territory Lord withdrew his killing intent and turned his eyes towards the distance. A moment later, he silently retreated just as he had silently arrived.
On the battlefield, Yang Kai’s spear was dancing like a Dragon. Suddenly, he relaxed as the feeling of being secretly observed by someone finally disappeared.
When Yang Kai parted ways with Miao Fei Ping and said he wanted to go fishing, he really meant to go fishing.
As a scout, Yang Kai had already completed his mission. He had basically figured out the location and deployment of the 200,000 Black Ink Clansmen in this region. After he had sent their location to Blue Sky Pass, the higher-ups would naturally make plans to deal with them.
His original plan was to lure some of the Black Ink Clansmen out and kill them. Although alone, he could only kill a limited number of them and it would not affect the overall situation, it was still better than doing nothing.
But after seeing over 200,000 Black Ink Clansmen, Yang Kai formulated a bigger plan.
If he kept provoking them, maybe he could lure this Black Ink Clan Army into attacking in advance. In that case, this Black Ink Clan Army would definitely be separated from the other forces, which would be quite advantageous for Blue Sky Pass.
However, the chances of this happening weren’t high. The Black Ink Clan weren’t fools. After besieging the Great Passes so many times, they knew that they couldn’t accomplish much just by relying on this army alone. So, they had been waiting for the other armies to gather so that they could advance together. Only by doing so would they be able to put pressure on Blue Sky Pass.
Be that as it may, it was still worth trying.
If he couldn’t achieve it in one try, he could give it couple more tries. Even if he couldn’t achieve his goal, he could still take advantage of this opportunity to eliminate some of the Black Ink Clansmen and relieve some pressure on the battlefield.
With his mastery over the Dao of Space, and Blue Sky Pass being just behind him, Yang Kai could fight or flee at will. Even if a Territory Lord took action, he could escape at any time he wanted.
The first attempt at luring the enemy had undoubtedly been a success. He drew off a troop of several hundred Black Ink Clansmen, out of which three were Feudal Lords. The rest were all High-Rank and Low-Rank Black Ink Clansmen, not enough to threaten him.
The second time, the number of Black Ink Clansmen he had lured was quite high, almost 2,000 in total. Nonetheless, the situation was still under his control. Even if he couldn’t kill them all, it didn’t matter.
But right as he was about to begin his slaughter, Yang Kai suddenly felt as if he was being watched from the shadows. This immediately made his heart clench and he silently split his attention to guard against any unexpected situations. He didn’t know where this spy was hiding, but since he was able to evade his detection, the opposite party had to be a Territory Lord.
[They couldn’t hold back, huh?] Yang Kai was a little taken aback.
Yang Kai wasn’t afraid. Since this Territory Lord was hiding in the shadows, perhaps he wanted to make a move on Yang Kai. Nonetheless, as long as he made a move, he would definitely show some signs, which would allow Yang Kai to escape in time.
So, Yang Kai pretended to not have noticed even though he had. He continued to slaughter more Black Ink Clansmen while giving the impression that he was prepared to leave as soon as things turned south.
To his surprise, the feeling of being watched soon disappeared.
[What are they planning? Since I was distracted, why did he not attack and instead left so quickly?] Yang Kai could not understand what the Black Ink Clansman observing him was planning, but he could not care less about it at the moment. With the Territory Lord gone, he became even more unscrupulous.
Many of the 2,000 Black Ink Clansmen were slaughtered by Yang Kai, while a handful managed to escape. Yang Kai had also suffered some injuries; after all, it was hard on him to fend off so many all alone. However, his injuries weren’t serious and he recovered after half a day of rest.
While Yang Kai was recuperating, a ghost-like figure slowly flew by the place where Dawning Light was hiding. This figure was none other than the Territory Lord who had volunteered to scout for the Human ambush.
Dawning Light’s concealment was quite good. Owing to the advantageous terrain and powerful Concealment Arrays, and with the void being so vast, even if a Territory Lord passed nearby, he might not be able to discover anything if he didn’t carefully investigate.
Along the way, this Territory Lord had noted about eighty to hundred shattered universe fragments, but he only did a quick inspection, so how could he have discovered anything?
Coincidentally, just as he was preparing to investigate further, several large ships flew over from the direction of Blue Sky Pass.
The Territory Lord immediately stopped and carefully observed.
After a short while, his expression changed as he hurriedly flew back the way he came, only stopping when he was at a safe distance.
He could not judge the exact situation from afar, but he was certain that the Human Race was laying an ambush.
[How cunning!] The Territory Lord cursed in his heart. Although he still had not found the exact deployment of the Humans, he didn’t dare to approach them at this moment because he could sense a familiar aura from the lead ship.
The Territory Lords and Eighth-Order Humans were quite familiar with each other after having fought for so many years. So, this Territory Lord was able to determine the identities of the enemy even from a great distance.
[A big fish!] The Territory Lord was overjoyed and couldn’t wait to return to the camp to deliver this news.
At the same time, Bai Yi, Feng Ying, and the others also noticed the movements and hurriedly flew up to check it out. They were all quite surprised when they saw several Warships flying towards them.
A short while later, the ships arrived at Dawning Light’s location before a figure jumped down from the lead ship.
Feng Ying stepped forward and respectfully greeted, “Martial Uncle!”
Zhong Liang slightly nodded before he started looking left and right, “Where’s Yang Boy?”
Feng Ying replied, “Squad Leader is still out scouting for information and has yet to return.”
Zhong Liang snorted, “I knew that brat would be up to no good. What bullshit information gathering, he must be off getting into all kinds of trouble.”
Feng Ying didn’t know how to respond to this, so she chose to remain silent and turned her attention towards the figures coming down from the ships. Slowly, her expression became solemn, “Martial Uncle, you…”
She couldn’t help but be shocked, because the figures coming down from the ships were all Seventh-Order and above Masters. Other than the Army Commander Zhong Liang, there were also over a dozen Eighth-Order Division Commanders. Feng Ying originally belonged to the Western Army, so how could she not recognize the Division Commanders of the Western Army?
[Is the Western Army really going all out?]
In addition to the Eighth-Order Open Heaven Realm Master, there were nearly 1,000 Seventh-Order Masters.
Zhong Liang chuckled, “We didn’t have such conditions in the past. Except for the attacks launched under the Old Ancestor’s leadership, all we could do was passively defend inside the Pass. It was quite frustrating, but now that things are in our favour, we naturally have to give the Black Ink Clan a big surprise and vent all our frustrations.”
Saying so, he suddenly took out something and threw it. The object resembled a ball of chiffon that suddenly expanded, enveloping the entire universe fragment. Feng Ying immediately felt as if a mysterious force had enveloped the entire universe fragment, isolating it from the outside world.
At this moment, even if someone were to observe from the outside, they wouldn’t be able to see what was happening inside this place.
Afterwards, everyone scattered about, searching for an empty spot.
Immediately afterwards, portals to Small Universes opened one after another, even Zhong Liang opened a portal to his Small Universe. Soon, figures emerged from these portals one after another.
Feng Ying, Bai Yi, and the others were all dumbfounded. The other members of Dawn were also tongue-tied.
In the blink of an eye, roughly 8,000 people had appeared on the universe fragment. Furthermore, these people immediately converged with their respective Squads and started setting up Spirit Arrays in a skilful manner, concealing their auras.
Feng Ying’s brow twitched as she stared blankly at this scene unfolding before her eyes. She could not help but ask, “Martial Uncle, has the entire Western Army been mobilized?”
At first, she thought that only the Seventh and Eighth-Order Masters of the Western Army had come, but to her surprise, the entire Western Army was here.
Blue Sky Pass only had about 30,000 soldiers, that’s all. And when they were divided into various Armies, each one made up between 8,000 and 9,000 soldiers. The number of soldiers gathered on this universe fragment was almost the same.
Zhong Liang stated in a heavy voice, “How could it be so easy to take down an Army of over 200,000 Black Ink Clansmen? It would take an Army to end this battle quickly, but if we win, our Western Army would have made a great contribution!”
Feng Ying could only sigh, “Martial Uncle, you are really amazing!”
Zhong Liang proudly smiled, “Of course.”
However, she didn’t know that in order to grab this chance from the other three Army Commanders, Zhong Liang was nearly beaten to a pulp. In the end, it was the Old Ancestor who stepped in and gave the final verdict, allowing this good opportunity to fall into the Western Army’s hands.
But if he wanted to devour this Army of 200,000 enemies, there was a prerequisite.
And that was that the Royal Lord should not be anywhere nearby. Even if the Western Army had the ability to defeat the Black Ink Clan army of 200,000, they would still suffer heavy casualties if the Royal Lord made an appearance.
Because of this, the Old Ancestor had personally set out to investigate the current whereabouts of the Royal Lord to implement this plan.
“Contact Yang Boy somehow and ask him about the situation there. If the Black Ink Clan army moves, tell him to immediately report!” Zhong Liang ordered.
Feng Ying accepted the order, “Yes, Martial Uncle!”
Zhong Liang wasn’t worried about not being able to ambush the Black Ink Clan Army. If the Black Ink Clan wanted to attack Blue Sky Pass, they would have to pass through this area. Even if there was a slight change in their route, they would not deviate too far, and so long as they passed through here, the Western Army had the confidence to devour them all.
Naturally, Yang Kai was completely oblivious to Blue Sky Pass’ grand plan.
At this moment, he was considering whether to join up with Dawn or continue to act alone.
In the last battle, he had killed over 1,000 Black Ink Clansmen, while less than half had fled back. Presumably, the Black Ink Clan Army was already aware of his abilities, so if he were to provoke them again, he might not be able to gain anything. Also, the fact that a Territory Lord had secretly been spying on him made Yang Kai a little uneasy.
Nonetheless, Yang Kai soon made up his mind.
He decided to continue provoking them.
It would be great if he could enrage the 200,000-strong army into attacking Blue Sky Pass in advance, but even if he could not, it was not a big deal. Even if the Territory Lords made a move, he could use the Space Beacon to return to Dawning Light in an instant.
At the very least, he would have reaped something, thought Yang Kai.
However, by the time he arrived at the place where the Black Ink Clan army was stationed, the situation had changed far beyond his expectations.
At this moment, the giant universe fragment was shrouded in thick Black Ink Clouds, making it impossible to see what was happening inside.
[What the Hell is the Black Ink Clan doing?]
Yang Kai was filled with confusion. These Black Ink Clouds were obviously created by the Black Ink Clan on purpose. Had it been there before, it could be said that the Territory Lords were trying to conceal their troop numbers, but since he had already obtained intelligence about the Black Ink Clan Army, it was pointless to conceal it further.
[Isn’t this equal to taking off pants just to fart? Is this really necessary?]
Yang Kai couldn’t guess the Black Ink Clan’s intentions, so all he could do was continue provoking them.
“That Human really came again!”
As soon as Yang Kai appeared, the Low-Rank Black Ink Clansmen immediately reported to their higher-ups; thus, the Territory Lords quickly learned of this.
“Follow the plan! The Humans have been treating us like idiots, let’s teach them a harsh lesson this time!”
Yang Kai had thought that his little provocation wouldn’t have much of an effect; after all, his strength had been exposed, so no matter how stupid the Black Ink Clan was, they wouldn’t fall for it again and again.
The Black Ink Clan might have even laid some kind of ambush here for him. Furthermore, the Territory Lords might also make a move.
But contrary to his expectation, his provocation actually succeeded this time as well! A few Feudal Lords rushed out from the universe fragment with their troops and chased after him.
Just like last time, when Yang Kai reached a suitable position, he turned around and began fighting with the 2,000 or so Black Ink Clansmen.
Nonetheless, he never lowered his guard. According to his estimate, a Territory Lord should be hiding nearby, waiting for an opportunity to deliver a fatal blow to him. So, he had to be on guard against possible sneak attacks from tricky directions.
Just as Yang Kai was luring Feudal Lords’ troops away, the 200,000-strong Black Ink Clan Army hiding in the Black Ink Clouds on the universe fragment split into three forces under various Territory Lords, rushing towards Dawning Light’s location from different directions. The Black Ink Clan was planning to launch a surprise attack on the enemy forces.
The Black Ink Clan had a total of four armies prepared to besiege Blue Sky Pass with nearly 1 million soldiers in total. This was just one of those four armies.
Although it was not yet time for them to act, the temptation of the Humans lying in ambush on the universe fragment was simply too great.
Not to mention anything else, that one person among the ambushers was sufficient for these Territory Lords to take some risks. Furthermore, after their recent discussion, they had come to the conclusion that there would not be that many Humans lying in ambush as this place was quite far from Blue Sky Pass. 200,000 Black Ink Clansmen and over a dozen Territory Lords would be more than enough to squash them. So, according to them, there wasn’t much risk involved.
They could still move together with the three other armies after eliminating these Humans.
“Wu Ying, are you sure Zhong Liang is also there?” Along the way, one of the Territory Lords asked.
The one called Wu Ying was the Territory Lord who had volunteered to investigate the Human Race’s ambush. Hearing this, he immediately gnashed his teeth as he rebuked, “How could I mistake Zhong Liang’s aura? That old dog severely wounded me back then. I almost lost my life. I would recognize him even if he is reduced to ashes!”
The Territory Lord, who had just asked the question, nodded and continued, “Good. In that case, we’ve caught a big fish this time. Zhong Liang is the Army Commander of the Western Army and holds a high position. If he dies, the morale of Blue Sky Pass will definitely plummet. Perhaps we can capture Blue Sky Pass this time.”
Wu Ying fiercely stated, “I want to kill him myself!”
“Don’t worry, you will get your chance!”
…
[Something’s wrong!]
Yang Kai keenly felt this during the battle. This was the third time he had lured the snakes out of their hole. The first time he had done so, he had managed to kill hundreds of Black Ink Clansmen. The Feudal Lord troops were simply unable to escape from him.
The second time, he was unable to kill all of them as there were just too many and he had no choice but to let a portion of them go.
The third time, he was able to lure the same number as he had lured the second time. At first, he had thought that a Territory Lord was hiding nearby, waiting for an opportunity to sneak attack him, but after killing so many Black Ink Clansmen and deliberately showing a few flaws, he still didn’t encounter any sneak attacks. He didn’t even notice the aura of any Territory Lords.
Was there no Territory Lord here from the start?
This wasn’t the most puzzling thing though. What made Yang Kai even more confused was that these Black Ink Clansmen were actually fighting him to the death!
This was very unusual. The Black Ink Clansmen here were clearly in a panic after witnessing their fellow comrades being mercilessly slaughtered and ordinarily, this would be the time for them to escape, but not a single one of them fled.
After some time, Yang Kai managed to kill nearly half of the 2,000 Black Ink Clansmen. If the remaining half didn’t flee, they would be wiped out sooner or later.
Yang Kai faintly felt that he had fallen into some kind of trap, but he could not worry about it at this point. Since there was no Territory Lord hiding nearby, he simply started a bloodbath!
After another hour or two, only 100 or so Black Ink Clan soldiers remained. These Black Ink Clan soldiers were extremely terrified and moved as far away from Yang Kai as possible whenever he approached. Nonetheless, none of them showed any intention of escaping.
Suddenly, a boiling Sword Intent appeared not far behind Yang Kai. The next moment, a sword cry reverberated through the void as a figure clad in sword aura came rushing in, shredding every Black Ink Clan soldier in its path into pieces.
The sword aura suddenly split into several directions before converging the next moment, killing or injuring most of the Black Ink Clansmen.
When the figure wrapped in sword aura rushed towards the last Feudal Lord, Yang Kai hurriedly shouted, “Keep him alive!”
Yang Kai had deliberately not killed this Feudal Lord, so how could he allow someone else to kill him?
Fortunately, Feng Ying’s reaction was extremely fast. She immediately changed directions and slaughtered the remaining small fries after Yang Kai’s shout. By the time she turned around, Yang Kai had already used Space Principles to imprison the wounded Feudal Lord.
“Why are you here?” Yang Kai turned to Feng Ying.
Feng Ying instead asked back, “Why can’t your Space Beacon transmit messages in reverse? Martial Uncle Zhong Liang asked me to ask you about the situation here, but since I couldn’t reach you, I had no choice but to come here personally.”
Yang Kai was stunned, “You sent me a message? I kept the Space Beacon in my Space Ring, so naturally you couldn’t reach me.”
After sending the last message, he had put away the Space Beacon because he was afraid that someone would send him a message, which would expose his whereabouts. He had never thought that Dawn Squad would really want to contact him.
“Did something happen?” Yang Kai asked in surprise.
Feng Ying shook her head, “Nothing like that. What about here?”
Yang Kai replied, furrowing his brow, “It’s a bit strange.”
Saying so, he turned to the imprisoned Feudal Lord and asked, “What are you plotting?”
The Feudal Lord was imprisoned and unable to move. He had been beaten black and blue by Yang Kai, and if it weren’t for Yang Kai intentionally keeping him alive to extract information, he would not have survived till now. Although he was captured though, he just sneered and kept his mouth shut.
“If you tell me, I’ll give you a quick death, otherwise I’ll make you suffer a fate worse than death!” Yang Kai warned.
The Feudal Lord turned away his head. The expression on his face said that he was prepared to die.
Yang Kai pushed his spear into the Feudal Lord’s chest, gently stabbing it in, avoiding his vitals. The Black Ink Clansman’s face twisted in pain as he roared, “Black Ink Eternal!”
Yang Kai frowned. It had been a long time since he had heard these words. Judging by the Feudal Lord’s attitude, it was impossible to get anything from him. This Feudal Lord knew that he would not survive, so he stubbornly kept his mouth shut.
What’s more, he had no idea about the higher-ups’ plans. He was just following orders to restrain Yang Kai here at all costs.
Yang Kai tried several other methods, but the Feudal Lord still remained silent. Yang Kai knew that he could not get anything from him and decided to finish him off.
Although he could not get anything, the Feudal Lord’s reaction gave him an eerie feeling. These Black Ink Clansmen clearly knew that they were no match for Yang Kai, but they had still chosen to fight to the death, seemingly stalling for time.
Right then, Yang Kai seemed to have realized something and immediately shouted, “Damn it!”
Saying so, his figure flickered as he disappeared from the spot.
Feng Ying anxiously shouted, “Squad Leader!” But Yang Kai had already disappeared from sight. All she could do now was follow the residual fluctuations of Space Principles and chase after him.
Yang Kai soon arrived at the periphery of the universe fragment where the Black Ink Clan army was stationed. The universe fragment was still shrouded in Black Ink Clouds, making it impossible to see the situation inside.
When he first saw these clouds, he found it a bit strange. Why would the Black Ink Clan waste so much effort to create these Black Ink Clouds? But if they were using it to conceal the movements of their army, it would make sense.
If his guess was correct, then this universe fragment was probably empty!
The Territory Lords had sent 2,000 Black Ink Clansmen to occupy him, while covertly mobilizing their forces. The Black Ink Clan was not stupid.
Although he had some guesses, Yang Kai still wanted to personally verify them, so he dove straight into the Black Ink Clouds.
The facts proved that his guess was right, there really wasn’t a single Black Ink Clansman on this universe fragment. The 200,000-strong Army stationed here had disappeared. Presumably, the Black Ink Clan Army had set out just after he left.
[Is it because they had discovered a Human scout and wanted to take Blue Sky Pass by surprise?]
[Fortunately, things are not that bad. I can instantly return to Dawning Light and report this back to Blue Sky Pass.]
Just as Yang Kai flew out of the universe fragment in a hurry, he ran into Feng Ying who was chasing after him.
Yang Kai hurriedly ordered, “Quickly return to Dawning Light, the Black Ink Clan army has already set out.”
Saying so, Yang Kai took out his Space Beacon and activated it, disappearing the next moment.
Feng Ying didn’t even have time to say anything before Yang Kai had disappeared on her again. She immediately stomped her foot in anger, “That impulsive bastard!”
Left with no choice, she could only activate the Universe Transference Law and return to Dawning Light as well.
On the universe fragment where Dawning Light was concealed, Yang Kai’s figure suddenly appeared next to Miao Fei Ping. The moment he appeared, he hurriedly shouted, “Fei Ping, quickly return to Blue Sky Pass and inform the Army Commanders that the Black Ink Clan’s 200,000-strong Army has started moving… Eh? Martial Uncle Zhong, why are you here? What’s everyone doing here?”
Yang Kai’s face was filled with shock, staring at the figures around him. He was unable to comprehend what was happening.
Zhong Liang asked, furrowing his brow, “You didn’t meet Feng Ying?”
“I met her, she should be back soon,” Yang Kai subconsciously replied.
While they were talking, Feng Ying walked out from Dawning Light’s cabin, obviously having teleported back through the Universe Array; however, she arrived a few breaths later than Yang Kai.
“What’s going on?” Upon looking around, Yang Kai noticed that there were 8,000 people on this universe fragment, preparing for battle. Although everyone was silent, there was a murderous aura lingering in the air. This sight caught Yang Kai by surprise, “Is this… the entire Western Army?”
Feng Ying explained, angrily glaring at him, “When Martial Uncle learned that there were 200,000 Black Ink Clansmen gathered here, he led the Western Army here to ambush them. He plans to eliminate one of the Black Ink Clan Armies before the battle to reduce the pressure on the Great Pass.”
“Why didn’t you tell me this?” Yang Kai looked at her.
Feng Ying rebuked him with a glare, “Did you give me a chance to speak?”
Yang Kai couldn’t help but scratch his nose in embarrassment. It was a mess caused by him.
Zhong Liang asked, “Is there any movement on the Black Ink Clan’s side?”
Yang Kai quickly reported, “I don’t know where the Black Ink Clan Army has gone, but this Junior’s actions must have made them cautious. The Black Ink Clan used Black Ink Clouds to conceal their movements. I don’t know their current location.”
“They’re gone?” Zhong Liang was speechless. The Western Army had come here with such great fanfare, but now the Black Ink Clan Army had disappeared. [What the Hell? If I returned empty-handed, wouldn’t I be laughed to death by Ding Yao and the other old farts?]
Right then, he suddenly turned his head, looking towards a certain direction in the void. Not just him, but all the other Eighth-Order Division Commanders also sensed something and looked around.
Yang Kai also seemed to have sensed something, but at the end of the day, his foundation wasn’t as deep as the Eighth-Order Division Commanders so his perception wasn’t as strong.
Feng Ying was confused, seeing this, and asked, “What’s wrong?”
Zhong Liang happily clapped his hands, “They didn’t run away, they actually delivered themselves to us. Interesting!”
An Eighth-Order Division Commander nodded lightly, “They split up into three groups. Are they trying to surround this place?”
Another Eighth-Order raised his brow, “Judging by the way they are acting, it seems they are aware of our ambush. Since they know there’s an ambush here, why are they being so rash?”
The Eighth Order who had spoken earlier postulated, “Perhaps they only know that there is an ambush, but they don’t know the extent of our deployment. Maybe they think that their Army of 200,000 is enough to take us down?”
“I think that’s the case; otherwise, there’d be no reason for them to willingly fall into this trap.”
Yang Kai’s expression changed as he reported, “Martial Uncle Zhong, not long ago, when I was in a skirmish with the Black Ink Clan, I vaguely felt a Territory Lord spying on me, but that Territory Lord didn’t do anything and soon disappeared. This Junior was still puzzled, but now that I think about it, that Territory Lord must have come here to investigate and noticed something.”
Zhong Liang nodded in agreement, “We are 10 days away from Blue Sky Pass, a considerable distance by all accounts. The Black Ink Clan would have never thought that we would have sent so many people here. They must be thinking that even if there is an ambush, there wouldn’t be too many of us, which is why they are acting so rashly.”
He chuckled happily, “In any case, this situation is advantageous to us. Since the Black Ink Clan wants to see Hell so badly, how can the soldiers of our Western Army not grant their wishes? Division Commanders, have the Squads on standby. When I give the order, you will attack the enemy with me!”
All the Eighth-Order Masters readily accepted the order before dispersing.
While they were speaking, the three groups of Black Ink soldiers had already arrived by the universe fragment and very soon, finished surrounding it. The Western Army soldiers on the universe fragment had naturally noticed this and this surprised them. They were here to ambush the Black Ink Clan Army, yet, suddenly, it looked like they were surrounded.
Be that as it may, they were not afraid. The Western Army deployed more than 8,000 troops for this operation. The Eighth-Order Division Commanders alone numbered over a dozen. Although the Black Ink Clan occupied the advantage in overall numbers, most of them were High-Rank and Low-Rank Black Ink Clansmen. The Human Masters had nothing to fear.
Realizing that a great battle was about to break out, all of them palmed their fists in excitement. In their eyes, the Black Ink Clan Army of 200,000 was just a pile of Military Merits up for grabs.
“Is this the place?” On the deck of a large ship, a Territory Lord looked down at the universe fragment while standing at the bow.
Wu Ying, who was standing beside him, affirmed with a nod, “En, this is it.”
The Territory Lord carefully looked around before lightly nodding, “There are indeed traces of Spirit Arrays, which only Humans use. It seems they are all hiding inside. Apparently, they are too afraid to show their faces.”
Wu Ying slightly furrowed his brow, voicing his concerns, “There were no Spirit Arrays when I first came here, so how come there are Arrays here now?”
The Territory Lord, who had just spoken, sneered, “The Humans are like that; they like to rely on external forces, but this is not Blue Sky Pass, so how powerful can hastily arranged Spirit Arrays be? With our army of 200,000, we can break them with a snap of our fingers! Pass the order, we should end this battle quickly so as to avoid delaying the attack on Blue Sky Pass.”
Wu Ying nodded and just as he was about to send a message to the Territory Lords of the other two groups the universe fragment below glimmered.
Suddenly, a gap appeared in the barrier that was covering the entire universe fragment in their direction before a large Battalion Rank Warship charged out from inside. A figure stood at the head of this Warship with his hands behind his back, staring ahead with a cold gaze. That sharp gaze immediately caused Wu Ying’s old wounds to ache.
He was all too familiar with that figure. It was none other than Zhong Liang.
Wu Ying was extremely taken aback by the fact that the Humans actually took the initiative to attack, but soon, his surprise turned into shock as he looked closely behind the Battalion Rank Warship. Smaller, but more manoeuvrable Squad Rank Warships appeared one after another.
One ship, two ships, three ships…
In an instant, an enormous number of Squad Rank Warships and Battalion Rank Warships filled his vision as the auras of Eighth-Order Open Heaven Realm Masters spread across the void.
Wu Ying was shocked, “Have… have the Humans gone crazy?”
The number of Human ambushers on this universe fragment far exceeded his expectations. After having fought the Humans so many times, Wu Ying could instantly tell from the size and number of these Warships that the Humans had mobilized an entire Army for this operation.
Blue Sky Pass only had a total of four Armies, and one of them had come all the way here? Were the Humans not worried that they would not be able to return to Blue Sky Pass if they got tied down?
Regardless of what his thoughts on the matter were, Wu Ying had no time to ponder on them right now, because Zhong Liang’s figure swiftly rose from the ship and shot straight towards him, leaving a streak of light in his wake. Before he even arrived, he fired a fearsome Divine Ability at him.
Wu Ying and the Territory Lord beside him both turned pale in shock and quickly dodged. They could dodge, but the ship they were standing on couldn’t. It was directly smashed to pieces, and the Black Ink Clansmen aboard suffered heavy casualties.
One after another, figures rushed out from the Human Army, all of them in the Eighth-Order Open Heaven Realm. The next moment, bursts of World Force swept through the void as each Territory Lord was targeted. In the blink of an eye, an earth-shattering battle had broken out and the shockwaves from the clash instantly killed many of the nearby Black Ink Clansmen.
Immediately after the Eighth-Order Open Heaven Realm Masters engaged the enemy, the Warships began firing dazzling beams of light straight into the Black Ink Clan camp. Each beam warped space along its path, and every Black Ink Clansman that was even close to the attacks were either reduced to mist or severely injured.
In the blink of an eye, the Black Ink Clan had suffered huge losses.
Wu Ying was in an extremely tight spot as he suddenly found himself fighting three Eighth-Order Human Masters by himself! He was already not an opponent of Zhong Liang alone, but now there were two others with Zhong Liang. He fell into mortal danger after just a few breaths.
There was not that big of a gap in the strength between the average Eighth-Order Master and an ordinary Territory Lord. Even if an Eighth-Order Master was slightly stronger than a Territory Lord, this gap was still limited. Only a selected few had the prowess to kill a Territory Lord alone. These people were all top Eighth-Order Masters.
Originally, the number of Territory Lords was about the same as the number of Eighth-Order Masters on the Human Race side, with the Black Ink Clan generally having a few more.
But the Black Ink Clan Army of 200,000 had split into three groups in order to completely surround this universe fragment. Correspondingly, the dozen or so Territory Lords had split into three groups, leaving just five or six Territory Lords in each. They mainly did this to prevent the Humans from escaping.
But contrary to their expectations, the distribution of their forces had become the biggest flaw in their encirclement, giving the Humans an opportunity to take them down one by one.
The Western Army had convened its entire force and commenced the attack without warning. Wu Ying’s group was the first to bear the brunt of this assault, and it was already in full swing before the other two groups could even react.
Right now, the Western Army was facing only 70,000 or so Black Ink Clan soldiers. Although the other two groups of Black Ink Clansmen were rapidly moving to assist, it would still take them some time to arrive. The Western Army was clearly planning to slaughter as many as possible in this short time where they held the absolute advantage.
All the Territory Lords were fighting one-against-many battles, and Wu Ying’s situation wasn’t even the worst fighting three Eighth-Order Masters; for instance, the one who was standing beside him just now was actually fighting five Eighth-Order Masters alone. For a moment, Wu Ying wondered whether he should be thankful that his luck wasn’t the worst.
Obviously, the Humans had attacked with full force in order to finish off a few Territory Lords and decide the trend of the battle!
The battle had already broken out, and naturally, this had not gone unnoticed from the other two Back Ink Clan groups, but even though they responded immediately, it would still take them a dozen breaths to arrive and provide assistance.
A dozen breaths was enough to decide life and death.
Suddenly, one of the Black Ink Clan Territory Lord’s auras vanished!
From the corner of his eye, Wu Ying watched the giant figure of his comrade, who was fighting five against one, sway and fall. His head was nowhere to be seen and black blood was gushing out of his neck.
His comrade may be dead, but he simply didn’t have the time to grieve, because under the siege of the three Eighth-Order Open Heaven Realm Masters led by Zhong Liang, he too was in imminent danger.
In the distance, some of the Territory Lords who had a good relationship with Wu Ying were rushing over to try to help, their faces filled with anxiety and anger. Wu Ying also tried his best to move in their direction, but every step he got closer came at the expense of several serious injuries.
After just three steps, Wu Ying felt his body lighten and the world spin around him. The concealment technique he had been relying on to survive on the battlefield was completely useless here.
[The Humans… are truly treacherous!]
Turmoil was the best portrayal of the current Black Ink Clan Army’s situation.
They had tried to besiege the Human Race’s ambushers, and every Territory Lord felt that they would be able to make a great contribution today; after all, there was a big fish like Zhong Liang among the ambushers.
But at the last moment, they realized that the fish they were after was actually a giant shark.
The Black Ink Clan Army was caught completely off guard and had lost three Territory Lords in less than a dozen breaths. They were finally able to prevent any other Territory Lord from dying after the other two teams joined the battle. As the Humans were already prepared, and the Black Ink Clan had been taken by surprise, the momentum of the battle had already been set.
Now, all that was left was to see how many of the 200,000 could escape.
Still, fleeing from the fully prepared Western Army was not an easy task. It was quite easy to be injured and even lose their lives in such situations.
The Territory Lords were well aware of this, so they didn’t immediately think to flee; instead, they ordered the various Feudal Lords to gather as many forces together as possible while they were battling with the Eighth-Order Masters.
A fleet of squad-rank and battalion-rank Warships quickly appeared on the battlefield, each of them protected by several Seventh-Order Masters. On the Warships, the glimmer of Spirit Arrays activating lit up the void. Every time an Array was triggered, it would reap the lives of many Black Ink Clan soldiers.
Needless to say, the Low-Rank Black Ink Clansmen were nothing more than cannon fodder in every battle between the Black Ink Clan and the Human Race, so they suffered the most casualties as they were unable to resist the might of the Human Warships.
Although the situation of the High-Rank Black Ink Clansmen was better, it wasn’t by much. The entire void seemed to have transformed into a millstone of flesh and blood, constantly grinding away the lives of the Black Ink Clan.
Dawning Light sailed through the battlefield. Yang Kai, Feng Ying, and several other Seventh-Order Masters floated around the Warship, each of them using their respective Divine Abilities to kill the surrounding enemies. Bai Yi stood at the prow, shooting down Feudal Lords at will. From time to time, she would even harass the Territory Lords who were fighting with the Eighth-Order Masters, causing them great frustration.
A Seventh-Order Human who was proficient in archery was a great deterrent on the battlefield, especially for those Territory Lords who were caught in the heat of battle and had to divert some of their attention to guard against Bai Yi’s sneak attacks.
Their strength was already inferior to the Eighth-Order Humans, and now they had an extra concern while locked in battle.
Yang Kai did not try to hit the Territory Lords when they were down, instead focusing on the Feudal Lords, which gave him brilliant results. Which Feudal Lord could block his spear? Furthermore, Dawn’s configuration was incomparable with any ordinary Squads. Not only were there more Seventh-Order Open Heaven Realm Masters, but Dawning Light’s capabilities were far superior to other Squad Rank Warships.
Wherever Dawning Light passed, it instantly emptied a large area of Black Ink Clansmen.
The great battle entered a fever pitch soon after it began. The Western Army wanted a quick, decisive victory, so they did not hold back in the slightest.
Although they were far away from the support of Blue Sky Pass, the Black Ink Clan Army was caught by surprise by the Western Army and was dealt a heavy initial blow that they were unable to recover from. It was obvious they could not hold out much longer.
Even though the Territory Lords knew that a disorderly retreat at this time would increase their casualties, if they did not flee, there was a great possibility that the entire army would be destroyed. If they could sacrifice their 200,000 troops for some Human lives, then it would not be considered a total loss; however, all the Fifth and Sixth-Order Humans were hiding in their Warships and would remain safe until their Warship was destroyed. Meanwhile, although there were some Seventh-Order Masters roaming the battlefield, they did not move far from the protection of their own Warships and would retreat to safety as soon as things became dangerous.
Many Black Ink Clansmen were killed or wounded in a fierce battle that lasted half a day, while the casualties on the Human side were quite low.
In such a situation, the choice was clear.
Since the Black Ink Clan Army had been defeated and was retreating, the Humans naturally would not let this good opportunity go to waste. Under the leadership of the many Eighth-Order Masters, they began chasing down and eliminating as many Black Ink Clansmen as possible.
They did not stop until two days later.
The result of the battle was spectacular, but it was impossible to know the exact numbers. The Black Ink Clansmen who escaped shouldn’t have numbered more than 50,000, which meant that at least 150,000 Black Ink Clansmen were killed in this engagement. Although it was not a total annihilation, it was still an enormous success.
Among the 150,000 Black Ink Clan casualties, less than half were killed in the initial battle while the majority were slaughtered as they fled.
150,000 casualties was not a big deal for the Black Ink Clan though as each time they laid siege to Blue Sky Pass with a huge army numbering in the millions. 150,000 troops worth of losses would not impact the overall situation much, only alleviate some of the pressure on the Humans in the initial stages of the war.
What was hard for the Black Ink Clan to accept was that in this battle, they had lost four Territory Lords.
Three of them were killed by the Eighth-Order Masters at the beginning of the battle, and the fourth was killed during the subsequent battle.
This was the loss that really hurt the Black Ink Clan.
As long as there were Black Ink Nests and available resources, they could easily replenish their 150,000 lost troops; however, four Territory Lords were not so easy to replace.
It took a very long time to cultivate even one Territory Lord. In the past, every time the two Races fought, there would be very few fallen Territory Lords. Almost all the dead were the Black Ink Clansmen under the Territory Lord Rank.
Thus, it could be said that the Black Ink Clan suffered heavy losses this time.
Warships of different sizes stopped in the void as the Western Army soldiers abided by the order to halt their pursuit.
Firstly, continued pursuit of the Black Ink Clan would not change the results of the battle significantly; secondly, they had to guard against being ambushed by the other Black Ink Clan armies. After all, if they were to be led into a trap by another fleeing Black Ink Clansmen, they would be at serious risk so far from Blue Sky Pass.
Thus, the Western Army decided to stand down and accept their victory.
The 200,000 Black Ink Clan Army had basically been beaten half to death, and the remaining stragglers could only rally together with the other armies.
The Western Army’s losses were negligible by comparison. Not many fell during this battle as the Warship’s all-encompassing protection allowed them to remain safe during critical situations. However, it was inevitable that the Western Army still incurred numerous casualties in such a large engagement.
“All Squads regroup. We’re heading back to Blue Sky Pass!” Zhong Liang gave an order that echoed across the void.
All abided by the order and one by one, the Squad Leaders and Battalion Commanders collected their Warships by placing them into their Small Universes. Then, huge flashing arrays of light appeared at the feet of the Western Army officers and soldiers one after another. Each flashing light represented an Open Heaven Realm Master returning to Blue Sky Pass through the Universe Array there.
The withdrawal was large, but orderly.
More than ten Eighth-Order Open Heaven Realm Master guarded the four directions while those in the Fifth-Order were the first to transport back to the Great Pass, followed by those in the Sixth-Order, and then the Seventh-Orders.
Batch after batch of Open Heaven Realm Masters used the Universe Transference Law in a spectacular scene.
In the past, before Yang Kai had arrived on the Black Ink Battlefield, Blue Sky Pass did not dare to let their troops use the Universe Arrays at will, even though they possessed them.
If a Black Ink Disciple infiltrated the Universe Array, then there might be serious consequences.
Things were different now that they had Purifying Light sealed in each Universe Array. Even if a Black Ink Disciple managed to sneak in, they would be instantly purified; thus, there was no risk of being infiltrated via the Universe Array like before. Not to mention that before this battle began, everyone had received a Purifying Black Ink Pill for safety.
Now that there was a way to resist invasion by Black Ink Strength and a swift method to withdraw from the battlefield, the Humans would naturally have the means to take the fight to the enemy.
This was also the first time in countless years that the Human Race conducted this kind of action. It was considered a bold attempt with better-than-expected results. With the success of this initiative, there would surely be more such battles in the future.
The Black Ink Clan no longer held the initiative to wage war.
Once all the Western Army soldiers had re-grouped at Blue Sky Pass, the remaining Eighth-Order Open Heaven Realm Masters each activated the Universe Transference Law.
With the return of the Western Army soldiers, the victory of the battle quickly spread throughout the Inner Sanctum, and the entire Blue Sky Pass was in high spirits.
However, this was not the end of it.
The Black Ink Clan countered with another three 200,000-strong armies that approached from three different routes. Perhaps they had already learned what happened to the army that had branched out and lost their men. Either way, within two days of the Western Army’s return to the Pass, Human scouts from afar reported that the enemy armies were advancing towards Blue Sky Pass.
The entire Blue Sky Pass had been in a state of readiness for battle for countless years, so everyone knew exactly what they needed to do.
This time, however, Blue Sky Pass had a pleasant surprise in store for the Black Ink Clan Army.
Half a month later, the three Black Ink Clan Armies finally arrived at the million kilometres mark outside the Pass. The gathering heads looked spectacular from afar, and with Black Ink Strength emanating from them, it was as if a dark storm cloud was rolling in.
However, the Black Ink Clan did not attack immediately. After two or three days of gathering, they finally divided their forces into four groups and surrounded Blue Sky Pass from all four cardinal directions.
The Black Ink Clan Army surrounded the Great Pass just as they had for countless years.
The Black Ink Clan could not be blamed for using the same tactics as usual. With a huge Army numbering in the hundreds of thousands gathered in one place, there was really no need for original thinking. If they split up further that would only provide the Humans the opportunity to pick them off one group at a time.
The troops were divided into four groups so that the Humans could only deal with them head-on. In terms of numbers, the Humans were always at a disadvantage.
The two or three days of delay was most likely due to reorganizing the troops.
The three Armies were similar to the original Army that fled and had about 200,000 troops each. The original Fourth Army was beaten half to death and could not just rely on the 50,000 or so remnants to organize a counterattack. It would be suicide if they tried.
They had no choice but to divide part of the three groups into four so that they could have an effective siege.
With nearly 700,000 troops, it was still not the smallest number of troops the Black Ink Clan had used to surround their enemy. There had been times when their numbers had been much smaller.
After all, most of their troops were just cannon fodder, used to absorb the opening blow and create a favourable battlefield for the stronger Black Ink Clansmen.
When the Black Ink Clan got into position, they did not hesitate at all and immediately attacked Blue Sky Pass.
An endless number of Low-Rank Black Ink Clansmen attacked from all four directions towards Blue Sky Pass, shouting and screaming with no regard for their lives.
Once they reached a certain distance, the Low-Rank Black Ink Clansmen used their powers to attack Blue Sky Pass; however, their attacks were destined to be futile. The entire Blue Sky Pass could be considered a massive Mobile Palace Artifact. Through the countless years of operation by the Humans, there were countless shield and barrier Spirit Arrays arranged to deal with the Black Ink Clan’s attacks.
This was not only true for Blue Sky Pass, but for every Great Pass.
The walls of the Great Pass were unfazed by the Low-Rank Black Ink Clan’s Secret Techniques. The walls of Blue Sky Pass were protected by an outer layer light barrier, and the attacks only created ripples on its outer surface.
The Black Ink Clan was not discouraged and kept attacking.
It took energy to maintain such a barrier, and one of the tasks of the Low-Rank Black Ink Clansmen, who were just cannon fodder, was to consume the power of the Humans.
100,000 kilometres… 80,000 kilometres… when the Black Ink Clan was within 50,000 kilometres of Blue Sky Pass, huge pillars of energy suddenly surged from the walls. As those pillars of energy blasted into the Low-Rank Black Ink Clansmen it was like crushing dry weeds and smashing rotten wood. Blasting out attacks of different shapes and sizes.
Under the terrifying bombardment, large numbers of Low-Rank Black Ink Clansmen instantly turned into dust.
At 50,000 kilometres, they were basically right under the nose of Blue Sky Pass, and the Secret Techniques from any Fifth-Order Open Heaven Realm Master with the support of offensive Arrays could reach such a distance.
So every time the Black Ink Clan cannon fodder attacked, many would be killed at this 50,000-kilometre line.
When troops of the Black Ink Clan died, the Black Ink Strength that escaped from their corpses would fill the void. When it reached a certain density, it would turn into Black Ink Clouds.
Such an environment caused great trouble to the Human Race. While the Fifth and Sixth-Order Open Heaven Realm Masters could hide in their Warships and rely on them for protection, the Seventh-Order Masters had to roam around the battlefield to make the best use of their strength to kill the enemy. When the battlefield was filled with Black Ink Strength, they had to utilize their own strength to resist its corrosive effects.
The Black Ink Clan could also hide among the Black Ink Clouds to launch sneak attacks.
This was the biggest effect of the cannon fodder. Their deaths not only created a lot of potential problems for the Humans, but they also provided better conditions for the Black Ink Clan Army to fight in.
However, now that Blue Sky Pass not only had Purifying Light, but also Purifying Black Ink Pills, it was hard to say if the Black Ink Clan cannon fodder strategy would work this time.
“Senior Brother, your aim is off. You should target the denser crowds to kill more of the Black Ink Clan,” a Sixth-Order Open Heaven Realm Master said on the Western wall of Blue Sky Pass.
In front of him, Yang Kai sat within a Grand Array that had a giant crossbow-like artifact installed in it. His stirring World Force began to calm down slowly.
Yang Kai did not need to participate at this point; after all, this was only the early stages of the battle as each Black Ink Clan siege would generally drag on for a long time. Additionally, he had only just returned from a battle with the Western Army and should be spending this time recuperating.
A Master like him would only be required when the real battle began.
The Black Ink Clan attacked Blue Sky Pass with cannon fodder to create a favourable battlefield, and the Humans responded from behind Blue Sky Pass’ shields.
Such a fight would last at least a month or two until the Black Ink Clan’s cannon fodder was exhausted. Only then would the main enemy force attack. At that time, it would be difficult for Blue Sky Pass’ shields alone to resist the assault. They would need to go out to meet the enemy directly on the battlefield. Then it would become a back-and-forth fight for years to decades until the Black Ink Clan could not handle it anymore and retreated.
However, considering his current Artifact Refining mastery, which had recently reached the Grandmaster Rank, Zhong Liang had positioned Yang Kai at the Western wall.
Numerous artifacts, which were used as Array Cores, were set up here. When used in high-intensity battles, wear and tear became obvious. This would then require Artifact Refiners to maintain and repair them, while Array Masters had to be on standby to coordinate with them.
Yang Kai was now stationed on the Western wall and was performing repairs on a large artifact known as a Scattering Feathers Crossbow.
This artifact was specially made for such a battlefield scenario and needed to be paired with an appropriate Spirit Array to fully utilise its strength.
Of course, it was possible to use this giant Artifact all on its own, but even a Seventh-Order Open Heaven Realm Master like Yang Kai would find it hard to bring out its full power in a battlefield setting.
Thus, it was not quite the same as the normal artifacts used by a cultivator.
The Array Masters used this Scattering Feathers Crossbow as an Array Core for a Grand Array that defended this section of the wall. Yang Kai simply poured his own power into the Grand Array to stimulate the power of the Scattering Feathers Crossbow.
There were Artifact Refiners and Array Masters assigned to each section of Blue Sky Pass’ walls at regular intervals, all of them on standby to repair and maintain them. That was how each of the artifacts were kept functioning during battle.
This arrangement had the advantage of allowing lower-order Open Heaven Realm Masters to exert the killing power of High-Rank Masters. In short, a Sixth-Order Open Heaven Realm Master could exert the power of a Seventh-Order Open Heaven Realm Master if he operated the Scattering Feathers Crossbows.
This was the same principle as the artifacts placed on Warships, where Fifth-Order and Sixth-Order Humans could combine their might and launch attacks on par with Seventh-Order Masters against the Black Ink Clan.
Yang Kai was a Seventh-Order Master, and an extremely powerful one at that, but this was the first time he operated this artifact so he had to get used to it, and the best way to do so was to fire it.
With Yang Kai operating it, this Scattering Feathers Crossbow could launch an attack comparable in power to his Golden Crow Casts the Sun, which was quite astonishing.
The Array Master behind Yang Kai was called Lu Xing. He knew who Yang Kai was, but Yang Kai did not know him. This wasn’t a surprise though as, by now, Yang Kai was universally known throughout Blue Sky Pass.
As an Array Master, Lu Xing had never been involved in a head-on clash with the Black Ink Clan. Each time the Black Ink Clan attacked, he was responsible for the maintenance of this section of the wall. Artifact Refiners, Alchemists, and Array Masters were never allowed on the battlefield because, not only were their skills extremely valuable, but they had often immersed themselves in their respective Daos and were not proficient in fighting. Thus, they were not that useful in combat.
Lu Xing was thrilled to learn that he would be working with the famous Yang Kai to maintain this section of the wall. He secretly told himself that he would do his utmost to assist Senior Brother Yang to kill as many of the Black Ink Clansmen as possible.
He observed that Yang Kai’s attack had gone off the mark, and immediately gave his opinion.
Yang Kai nodded lightly, and as Lu Xing suggested, he adjusted his aim down a bit, and then pushed his own power into the artifact.
The Grand Array hummed, condensing power into the Scattering Feathers Crossbow, causing it to shine brightly.
Yang Kai did not rush to attack, wanting to test the limits of this weapon.
As World Force continued to pour into the Grand Array, the crossbow glowed brighter and brighter, and the energy arrow soon became as bright as the sun.
Lu Xing turned pale as he said nervously, “Senior Brother hold back a little, the Grand Array is about to reach its limit.”
Yang Kai did not know that the Grand Array was about to reach its limit; however, he could tell that the Scattering Feathers Crossbow was beginning to strain under the energy he channelled into it.
It was not surprising that this would happen when a cultivator poured in too much World Force. Furthermore, with the additive effects of the Grand Array, the power of the cultivator would be significantly enhanced.
Yang Kai’s Divine Sense locked onto the place where the Black Ink Clan’s cannon fodder had gathered in the largest number in front of him, and, as he was about to launch his attack, Yang Kai suddenly he had a bout of inspiration and he lifted his hand slightly.
The array buzzed and the void shook, a dazzling light shot out, flying some 100,000 kilometres away.
Lu Xing thought that Yang Kai had missed again, and this time it was even more outrageous than before, but when he looked up, he saw the stream of light had reached the rear of the approaching Black Ink Clan Army before exploding into thousands of rays of light, just like a peacock opening its tail from afar!
“Hahaha!” Yang Kai laughed heartily.
Lu Xing might not be able to see the effect of the strike due to his limited strength, but Yang Kai could see clearly the full effect of the Scattering Feathers Crossbow. Not only did he manage to fire the weapon to the 100,000-kilometre mark, he managed to cause some casualties to the unsuspecting Black Ink Clan Army. At least 100 Low-Rank Black Ink Clansmen were turned into dust by that attack and even more were injured.
The Scattering Feathers Crossbow was meant to be an area-of-effect weapon, and it suddenly struck the rear of the Black Ink Clan Army, which no one was prepared for.
This artifact was more powerful than an ordinary full-powered attack from him, making it worthy of being an all-rounded weapon used for both offence and defence. With such artifacts, the Human Race didn’t need to worry that the Great Pass would fall.
However, such a move was only effective for the first strike and its effect was also limited. When repeatedly done, the Black Ink Clan would be able to guard against it, not to mention the distance his attack had to travel to hit its target made it easier to dodge for those paying attention.
Additionally, launching such powerful attacks would wear down the Scattering Feathers Crossbow and damage it in no time.
Yang Kai just wanted to test where the limits of this Array Artifact were. Dawning Light was also equipped with a Scattering Feathers Crossbow, but he was always roaming around the battlefield to kill the enemies while the Squad’s Fifth-Order and Sixth-Order members were the ones who operated this artifact.
With a plan in mind, Yang Kai once again poured in his power.
Lu Xing watched with trepidation as Yang Kai began channelling his energy; however, he did not do anything unconventional this time. He aimed the weapon and attacked the tidal wave of Black Ink Clan cannon fodder coming in front of him.
One after another, giant bolts of light cleared an area of the void without stopping.
Lu Xing was deeply impressed. He had seen people manipulate this artifact before, but they fired far less rapidly and with far less force than Yang Kai. He had finally seen for himself the reason why Yang Kai was so legendary.
The high intensity of the fight lasted for three days and nights. The Black Ink Clan cannon fodder seemed to be inexhaustible, so no matter how many were killed, more would show up. Furthermore, Black Ink Cloud began to block his view.
Yang Kai had stopped for a moment. The Grand Array formation and Scattering Feathers Crossbow needed to cool down and be repaired. Additionally, he had expended his energy and required some time to restore it.
The good thing was that there were many Grand Arrays and artifacts arranged on the walls; thus, they could take turns to rest and conduct maintenance on some while others were still active. Thus, the intensity of the bombardment would not drop.
After more than 20 days of fighting like this, the wave of cannon fodder finally came to an end. Almost all the cannon fodder that was put into the battlefield was dead.
This was the standard tactic of the Black Ink Clan. They had an endless supply of cannon fodder and could sacrifice them without any concerns. Creating a favourable battlefield with the death of some cannon fodder was well worth it.
Furthermore, in the days to come, the Black Ink Clan would continue to send a steady stream of troops against Blue Sky Pass, including a large number of cannon fodder which had been sent from the Black Ink Clan’s territory as reinforcements. Such attacks would continue throughout the duration of the war.
In between, it would be time for Black Ink Clan’s main forces to enter the battlefield.
The void was silent as Black Ink Strength accumulated and Black Ink Clouds enveloped Blue Sky Pass. The movement of the Black Ink Clan Army was not visible from 100,000 kilometres away anymore. From past experience, the Humans knew that the main force of the Black Ink Clan had begun to move, but they could not track them as they were still too far away.
The Human soldiers gathered to prepare for the impending attack.
Before they encountered the Black Ink Clan main force, they would continue to use the artifacts on the walls to launch harassing attacks. They were not just for eliminating the Black Ink Clan cannon fodder, but also a strong weapon to fight the Black Ink Clan main force.
A sense of anticipation permeated the entire Blue Sky Pass.
At the West Gate, Squads were assembled, and Dawn was among them.
Yang Kai had left his position on the wall days ago, leaving others to operate and maintain the Scattering Feathers Crossbows.
As they waited, they suddenly felt a wave of energy surging in from all directions and the whole Blue Sky Pass hummed loudly. Blasts of light from Array Artifacts were constantly sent out in all directions from the walls.
The battle had begun!
Large-scale army combat was not new to Yang Kai. He was once involved in a Blue Sky Pass battle 100 years ago, and more recently at Yin-Yang Pass.
The key point was to work with one’s own Squad, as well as other Squads, and try not to be surrounded by too many enemies. Fight and kill as many of the Black Ink Clansmen while constantly remaining on the move and not charging out recklessly on your own.
In terms of numbers alone, the Humans were always at a disadvantage, but they could win by relying on their flexibility, and their carefully designed Warships. The foundation of the Human Race’s ability to survive so long was that they knew how to advance and retreat when needed.
This was the first attack by the main force of the Black Ink Clan Army, and the two sides engaged in a fierce melee in the 100,000-kilometre zone around Blue Sky Pass for half a month before respectively withdrawing.
The Black Ink Clan lost a lot of troops and retreated beyond the 100,000-kilometre mark to regroup, while the Humans returned to the Pass to rest and recover.
The Territory Lords did not fight this time and only watched from afar. Likewise, the Eighth-Order Open Heaven Realm Masters did not participate. Each of these top Masters had their own opponents, and if they rushed rashly into the battlefield, they would only give the enemy the opportunity to find an opening for a breakthrough.
The two sides had fought for countless years and neither was stupid, which was why the previous ambush that killed four Territory Lords was a rare achievement for Blue Sky Pass.
Throughout the void, two powerful Wills were engaged in a heated confrontation. One from Blue Sky Pass and one hiding somewhere behind the Black Ink Clan Army.
These two Wills were from the Old Ancestor and the Royal Lord.
The Royal Lord had naturally come to the battle. If he did not come, the Old Ancestor could act unconstrained and kill the Territory Lords at will. Thus, each time the Black Ink Clan Army surrounded the Pass, the Royal Lord would sit at the back of the army and act to constrain the Human Old Ancestor.
These two were also old enemies who had fought each other numerous times, so they knew each other’s methods very well.
However, generally speaking, these two would not fight directly. Their respective presence only served as a deterrent. They only utilized their Wills to confront one another while making their intent clear, ‘If you dare to come out to the battlefield, there will be bloodshed!’
It was very rare that the two would actually engage in a bitter battle. At their cultivation realm, it was almost impossible that one could kill the other, so a battle would only result in both of them being severely injured. The higher one’s cultivation, the more difficult it was for them to heal from injuries. Thus, they would rather sit back and face each other from afar.
The first major attack on Blue Sky Pass did not have the desired effect; however, the Black Ink Clan was not discouraged. They had learned of the resilience of the Human Race countless times. If it was really so easy to break through the Human defences, they would suspect that there would be some form of trap waiting for them.
After recuperating for a while, the battle resumed.
However, it was not as intense as the first battle. Only small groups of troops fought in minor skirmishes.
After that, it was basically a small fight once every five days, then a big battle once a month. This gave the Humans plenty of time to restore their strength. The Squads who were not involved in the battles could rest and recuperate while holding their positions.
Yang Kai led Dawn out several times, participated in many battles with the Black Ink Clan, and killed numerous enemies.
Two years later, the Black Ink Strength and the Black Ink Clouds outside of Blue Sky Pass began to diminish significantly. After all, no amount of Black Ink Strength and Black Ink Clouds could survive the clash of a large group of Open Heaven Realm Masters and powerful Black Ink Clansmen.
As usual, it would not take long for the Black Ink Clan to send another large number of cannon fodder and reinforcements to repeat their previous actions.
However, there would generally be a big clash before that happened.
Blue Sky Pass had been waiting for this battle.
Zhong Liang, the overall commander of the operation, summoned all the leaders to the Main Conference Hall. All the Division Commanders, Battalion Commanders, and even Squad Leaders were gathered on his orders.
With everyone’s attention on him, Zhong Liang swept his gaze around as he spoke solemnly, “In three to five days, or at the latest, half a month, the Black Ink Clan will definitely launch a strong attack. We have waited for this battle at Blue Sky Pass for two years. This is the situation we painstakingly prepared for and we must finish it in one decisive blow. Over the years, you must have heard many discussions that happened within the Inner Sanctum. Everything we’ve been arranging has been for this moment. If we win this battle, Blue Sky Pass will have 1,000 years of peace. It is incumbent on everyone to fight as hard as they can. Those who do not give their all, I will personally cut down!”
In this battle, the Eighth-Order Open Heaven Realm Masters would handle the Territory Lords, while the Battalion Commanders and Squad Leaders would each provide support while clearing out the weaker opponents.
Zhong Liang straightened his back and declared, “I expect everyone to follow my orders and not try to show off. Don’t think that because you’ve killed one or two Territory Lords, they have suddenly become easy to kill.”
A group of people looked towards Yang Kai.
Yang Kai awkwardly coughed, “Why are you looking at me?”
He was standing among a group of Squad Leaders and wondered why Zhong Liang specifically mentioned this and targeted him.
A Squad Leader next to him chuckled lightly, “Who else in the Seventh-Order Open Heaven Realm, besides you, has killed a Territory Lord?”
Yang Kai muttered, “I didn’t intend to. There were circumstances, mixed with some opportunities that I just happened to grasp.”
Zhong Liang glared at him from above, “What did you say? Louder. My hearing is impaired. I can’t hear clearly!”
Yang Kai braced himself and said loudly, “Army Commander, I would like to ask, how can you be sure that the Territory Lords will act this time? For the past two years, they have been content to sit back and watch.”
Zhong Liang growled, “It’s exactly because they haven’t done anything for the last two years that they are definitely going to fight this time. The Royal Lord sits as their absolute commander. Now that the Black Ink Clan losses are significant, it is even more important for these Territory Lords to enter the battlefield, even if it is just for appearances. Otherwise, why would they even be here? For sightseeing?”
“Junior understands,” Yang Kai responded loudly.
“Shut up if you understand!” Zhong Liang reached out and pointed at him, “If I find out later that you jumped out to try to block a Territory Lord, I’ll make sure you get the punishment you deserve!”
Yang Kai nodded obediently and shouted, “Junior will obey your orders!”
Zhong Liang was satisfied with Yang Kai’s response. He then raised a hand and rays of light shot out from it. One ray was sent to each Squad Leader and Battalion Commander.
“Each of you familiarize yourselves with these and make your preparations, but remember that the situation on the battlefield can change rapidly. Do not force yourselves if you can’t do it. Even if you can’t use this this time, there will be a next time as long as you survive, understand?”
“Yes!” Everyone answered loudly and immediately dispersed to their respective homes.
Zhong Liang distributed two items to the Seventh-Order Leaders, a jade slip and a jade pendant.
The jade slip was clearly marked with a location outside of Blue Sky Pass, while the jade pendant was a Control Jade. This was Blue Sky Pass’ special surprise for the Black Ink Clan Army.
Zhong Liang was right when he said that if this operation was successful, Blue Sky Pass would not see a big war for the next 1,000 years. Thus, everyone took it very seriously.
It took Yang Kai only two days to refine the Control Jade. Obviously, the other Squad Leaders and Battalion Commanders were not too far behind.
Everything was ready for the Black Ink Clan Army to attack.
The wait was torturous, but the situation was just as Zhong Liang had anticipated. 10 days later, the Black Ink Clan came out in force, and this time, the Territory Lords, who had been watching for more than two years now, finally joined the battle.
They could not help it. In the two years of fighting, the Black Ink Clan Army suffered a lot of losses. The Royal Lord was still their commander and the Territory Lords could not continue to loiter in the rear. Even though they knew that they could not take down Blue Sky Pass with their current force, they still had to put in the effort to gain something from this.
Naturally, they held no expectation to take Blue Sky Pass in this battle, they only aimed to inflict more damage to the Humans, while the follow-up Black Ink Clan reinforcements were on the way. It would not take long for their fallen troops to be replenished. Afterwards, they could continue to chip away at the Human’s defences and wear down their strength.
The fighting was fierce and intense.
However, this time the battle was obviously different than before. Previously, the Squads of the Western Army did not have a fixed position on the battlefield and basically roamed around freely within a certain range. They would proceed to wherever there were more Black Ink Clansmen to kill.
This time was different though. On close observation, one could see that a Squad was fixed in a certain area of the battlefield. They would not move out of their assigned region as they fought against the Black Ink Clan Army.
Not only the Squads, but also the Eighth-Order Open Heaven Realm Masters began to lure their opponents to specific areas.
Yang Kai led Dawn to cut through the battlefield, using the Dao of Space to imprison the void and encircle a large area of space.
In this area, there were at least 3,000 to 4,000 Black Ink Clansmen, with the bulk of them being High-Rank Clansmen together with a number of Feudal Lords. These 3,000 to 4,000 Black Ink Clansmen were much more experienced and stronger than the initial Black Ink Clan cannon fodder.
This was natural; after all, the cannon fodder was all dead, and after more than two years of fighting, the number of Low-Rank Black Ink Clansmen had decreased drastically.
Yang Kai was not satisfied and pushed his Space Principles to the limit, encircling more and more Black Ink Clansmen.
Dawn’s strength and domineering attitude finally caught the attention of the surrounding Black Ink Clansmen, who were going towards them.
There were many similar Squads who operated like Dawn, but each had their own way of doing things. Each Squad had a large number of Black Ink Clansmen gathered around them.
The situation was going well, but a few people had some comments.
“Brother Yang, why are you snatching so many?” The Leader of a nearby Squad suddenly sent a message via Divine Sense, sounding annoyed.
This could not be helped. There was a group of Black Ink Clan that was heading for his Squad, but they were trapped by Yang Kai’s Space Principles and immediately drawn towards Dawn.
Yang Kai smiled back and said, “Dawn has more people, so we have to kill more.
The Squad Leader was dumbfounded, “These are just small fry. Brother Yang, even if you want to eat the meat, at least share some soup!”
Yang Kai ignored the request and did not even respond to his request.
The Squad Leader yelled furiously, “You scoundrel! How can you be so selfish?”
The lights on Dawning Light flashed wildly. Even though the team members used the Warship to dodge flexibly, there was no way to avoid all the attacks of thousands of Black Ink Clansmen. With so many Secret Techniques hitting Dawning Light’s shields, they faded at a speed visible to the naked eye.
Miao Fei Ping reported nervously, “Martial Uncle, the Protective Array won’t last much longer.”
There were too many Black Ink Clansmen around Dawning Light, including many attacking Feudal Lords. Although Dawning Light’s performance was excellent, it could not withstand the intense bombardment of so many enemies. Miao Fei Ping began to sweat as the Black Ink Clansmen closed in.
“How much longer can it last?” Yang Kai asked.
Miao Fei Ping immediately replied, “10 breaths at most!”
After 10 breaths, the Protective Array would be broken, and Dawning Light would have no protection at all. His more than 30 Squad members would be exposed to the Black Ink Clan’s attacks, and it was difficult to say if they could survive such an onslaught.
“Understood!” Yang Kai replied, and instead of expanding the battle further, he quietly fished out the Control Jade, silently pushing his power in preparation to activate it.
Yang Kai was not the only one who did this; all the other Squad Leaders did the same.
Above the battlefield, the Royal Lord hid in a Black Ink Cloud and looked down from above.
As a Royal Lord, his senses were extremely sharp. He could sense that the Humans’ behaviour was a bit unusual. The other Black Ink Clansmen may not have noticed it since they were too focused on their own fights, but he did; after all, he had an overview of the whole situation.
The Human Squads seemed to be splitting the battlefield. Since the beginning of the battle, the Humans avoided moving around and did not seem eager to kill the enemy. This was very different from previous battles.
[The Humans must be up to something!] The Royal Lord had a bad feeling about the situation and felt that the Humans had some kind of scheme. Every Black Ink Clansman had experienced how sly and cunning these Humans were at some point in time.
He was not worried about himself. Before absolute power, all plots and schemes were futile; however, he could not act at will. The aura of the old ghost from Blue Sky Pass was locked on him. If he struck out, he might show an opening and would be hit hard by that old ghost. At their Realm, it would be a huge problem if that happened; therefore, he could not give the Human Old Ancestor this opportunity.
[Still, what are the Humans up to?]
The answer would soon be revealed.
Just as Dawning Light’s shields were about to fail, a Divine Sense transmission in the battlefield exploded in the ears of every Human, “Now!”
It was Zhong Liang’s voice!
Yang Kai, who had been prepared for this, did not hesitate. He pushed the power of the jade in his hand, and it shone with a profound light.
The light shot into empty space and dissipated; however, immediately afterwards, a huge black hole suddenly appeared and rapidly expanded.
In that area, whether it was Dawn or the Black Ink Clansmen, none of them had time to react. The black hole enveloped the surrounding area, and although the Black Ink Clan noticed something bad was happening and wanted to get away, they could not overcome the powerful suction force.
The black hole expanded to its limits in just three breaths of time; then, as quickly as it appeared, it collapsed in on itself and disappeared.
Also disappearing was Dawn Squad and the 3,000 or 4,000 Black Ink Clansmen nearby!
This not only happened to Dawn, but to every Human Squad on the entire battlefield outside Blue Sky Pass. Such scenes repeated one after another. Black holes appeared rapidly, expanded, and then disappeared with all the nearby Humans and Black Ink Clansmen.
As soon as these black holes appeared, the Royal Lord knew exactly why he felt so uneasy.
The Humans actually laid a large number of traps outside Blue Sky Pass. The origin of these traps was the Universe Paradises and the Universe Cave Heavens left behind after the death of the Humans Open Heaven Realm Masters over the years.
The Universe Paradises and Universe Cave Heavens expanded into huge black holes when they were suddenly opened, and perhaps because of Spirit Arrays, they collapsed back and sucked in all the nearby Humans and Black Ink Clansmen.
The Royal Lord could never have imagined that something left behind by a dead person could still have such an effect.
The Black Ink Clan had never encountered such a tactic before, so it was certain that this was something new that the Humans set up in the last 100 years.
But if the Humans could do something like this, why hadn’t they done so before? Why wait until now? The Royal Lord could not figure it out. He only knew that he could still not act right now, even though the losses were most likely going to be catastrophic.
With his strength, he was capable of stopping this. From the appearance of the huge black holes to their disappearances, a few breaths of time would pass. Those who were caught were powerless to resist, but the Royal Lord could have saved them.
However, he did not dare to do so; after all, the Human Old Ancestor was intensely focused on him, like a predator that could lash out at any moment and deal him a fatal blow.
Thus, he could only watch as the Army under his command was devoured, one by one by the numerous black holes.
“Hmph!” In the Inner Sanctum, the Old Ancestor snorted in displeasure. The Royal Lord was truly tolerant. He would rather watch the Black Ink Clan Army suffer than risk his safety.
However, the overall situation had been decided. Blue Sky Pass would definitely usher in a long period of peace, and in the meantime, the Black Ink Clan could only cower in a corner.
The original battlefield suddenly became empty after the sudden appearance and collapse of the black holes. There were some lucky Black Ink Clansmen who did not get caught of course, but they were left confused and disoriented, not sure what to do now.
Without waiting for them to figure it out, powerful Secret Techniques and artifacts shelled them from the four walls, causing them to scurry for cover.
Dawning Light quietly hovered in the air while the thousands of Black Ink Clansmen that were gathered up by Yang Kai’s Space Principles had disappeared.
However, Yang Kai knew that all those Black Ink Clan troops were in this Sealed World, just scattered about. All Dawn needed to do was to find them and kill them one by one.
“Is this a Universe Cave Heaven?” Feng Ying looked around and began to ponder.
Yang Kai nodded lightly, “En, it’s a Universe Cave Heaven. I don’t know which Senior left it.”
Feng Ying understood, “The 100-year plan is finally being used, huh? Is this what you guys were gathering for?”
The content of that gathering held by Zhong Liang was not revealed to Feng Ying and the others. The existence of such an important plan involving the peace of Blue Sky Pass for the next 1,000 years had to be kept a tight secret. Feng Ying certainly understood this.
Nonetheless, the existence of these traps was well known; after all, the Inner Sanctum had spent 100 years and a lot of resources creating them. Every Universe Cave Heaven and Universe Paradise that could be used had a large number of Spirit Arrays arranged inside. Even then, it was still impossible to suck in all the Black Ink Clansmen on the battlefield.
Not only that, but each Universe Cave Heaven and Universe Paradise also had a Spirit Array at its entrance, which would send the Black Ink Clansmen being pulled in to random locations.
In other words, besides Dawn, which remained together, the Black Ink Clan that were brought in were scattered all over the place. Not only here, but also in the other Universe Paradises and Universe Cave Heavens. Thus, this gave the Human Squads the opportunity to kill them off, one by one.
After being pulled into such a space, the Black Ink Clansmen’s fate was already sealed.
It was time to hunt!
Yang Kai pushed his power into the jade in his hand. With the power of the Control Jade, he looked in a certain direction and said, “There are many Black Ink Clansmen gathering over there.”
Upon hearing this, the team member in charge of Dawning Light immediately made a slight adjustment to their heading and sailed the ship in the direction Yang Kai had indicated.
Although the Black Ink Clansmen were randomly distributed within this Universe Cave Heaven, there would always be some that were lucky enough to quickly gather together. This was also because Yang Kai had rounded up some 4,000 Black Ink Clansmen this time.
Right now, there were several dozens of Black Ink Clansmen gathered together in the spot Yang Kai pointed out. They were naturally confused when they suddenly appeared in such a strange place and could not understand what had happened.
One Feudal Lord vaguely guessed that this place should be a Small Universe that was left behind when an Open Heaven Realm Human died in the past.
He was thinking that no matter what had happened, he should gather more of his clansmen first. Only if he gathered enough power would he have a chance to break out of the Humans’ plot.
At that moment, he suddenly felt something and turned his head to look in a certain direction. To his horror, he saw a Human Warship speeding towards them.
The Feudal Lord was shocked as he yelled, “It’s that Human Squad!”
On the battlefield, battles were mostly dominated by Human Warships. Now that both Humans and their Warship had been sucked into this place, it spelled their doom!
Hundreds of Black Ink Clansmen on the battlefield would find it hard to defeat a Human Warship, so now there were only a trivial few dozen of them, they would certainly be like appetizers served up on a platter.
The Feudal Lord was quick to understand what was going to happen, so as soon as he saw Dawning Light, he immediately fled in the opposite direction.
But, how could he escape? Dawning Light’s speed had been pushed to the limit in order to ruthlessly kill all the nearby Black Ink Clansmen as soon as possible.
Before the Warship even arrived, powerful attacks were launched and the Black Ink Clansmen fell in droves.
The Feudal Lord was still running wildly when he suddenly felt a figure flash by his side. He turned his head to look and saw a Human youth looking at him with a smile, who then said, “Die early and you’ll be reborn early, why struggle so much?”
As he spoke, the youth summoned a long spear into his hand and with a simple thrust, it swept towards him.
The Feudal Lord was frightened to death and wanted to resist, but no matter what he did, he could not avoid this spear tip as it seemed to seal off the space around him as it approached.
The huge figure exploded mid-air into a bloody black mist. Yang Kai then dashed back and pointed in another direction, “That way!”
With the Control Jade in his hand, the Black Ink Clansmen hiding in the Universe Cave Heaven were like fireflies in the dark night, unable to hide from his detection regardless of how much they tried.
Dawn swiftly hunted down and killed the scattered enemies, meeting little to no resistance.
If the 4,000 Black Ink Clansmen that were swept into this place could gather together, it would be difficult for the Dawning Light to deal with them; however, now that these Black Ink Clansmen were scattered, even if some managed to regroup, there were not many of them. Thus, it was difficult for them to resist Dawn’s assault.
One by one, the Black Ink Clan fell, with Dawning Light almost never stopping, simply killing as it flew around.
This Universe Cave Heaven was not small in area, but it only took Dawn an hour to ruthlessly slaughter all the Black Ink Clansmen that were rounded up by Yang Kai.
During this time, the auxiliary Killing and Trapping Arrays that Blue Sky Pass had set up in advance in this Universe Cave Heaven were not even used; otherwise, it could have been even easier.
After using the power of the Control Jade to search the entire Universe Cave Heaven and ensure that there were no more Black Ink Clansmen left, Yang Kai opened up the portal and led Dawn out.
After leaving the Universe Cave Heaven, the members of Dawn looked around and saw that the entire battlefield was empty and silent. In fact, except for their Squad, no one else was around.
This situation was to be expected though. Although the traps had been triggered, there would always be some enemies that got away; however, the walls and offensive artifacts were not for show and the remaining Black Ink Clansmen were too few to meaningfully attack Blue Sky Pass. If they stayed on the battlefield, they would become nothing more than target practice; thus, the only option for them was to escape.
Dawn was very fast in eliminating those that were sucked into the black hole with them. The other Squads were still in the midst of killing their enemies, so they were not out yet.
Yang Kai quickly took over the control of Dawning Light and sailed it in a certain direction. They soon came to a spot in the void, and after a brief survey, he waved his hand and manipulated Space Principles.
Ripples passed through the Void and a portal emerged before he drove Dawning Light through it.
This was a Universe Paradise where a 15-man Squad from the Western Army’s Fourth Division, Sky Battalion, was hunting the Black Ink Clansmen caught up in this place.
The Squad Leader was not as bold as Yang Kai, and it was impossible for the number of Black Ink Clansmen sucked into this place to be anywhere close to the 4,000 Dawn had faced; after all, the more Black Ink Clansmen that were sucked in, the more pressure they would be under. Thus, the number of Black Ink Clansmen sucked in was trivial, probably less than 1,000 in total.
The Black Ink Clansmen were scattered all over the Universe Paradise though, and the 15-man Squad were able to hunt with their Warship, so there was no risk.
After more than an hour of hunting, about half of their targets had been killed, and now this Squad was about to face a tough fight.
The size of a Universe Paradise was naturally no match for a Universe Cave Heaven. So, although only about 1,000 Black Ink Clansmen were sucked in, these enemies were still somewhat tricky to wipe out. They were scattered not far from each other and within an hour, more than 200 of them had gathered in one place, including 3 Feudal Lords.
Among the 15-man Squad, there were 2 Seventh-Order Masters while the rest were in the Fifth and Sixth-Order. With their Warship’s abilities, it was not impossible for them to take on these 200 Black Ink Clansmen, but there would certainly be some risk. After all, in order to ensure that the plan worked, each Squad Warship had suffered varying degrees of bombardment before the trap was sprung, and its Protective Array had been damaged already.
Thus, the Squad Leader of this Squad chose a more cautious approach to battle, which allowed these 200 Black Ink Clansmen to rally together and pursue them.
Nonetheless, in the direction the Squad was heading, there was a Grand Array set up by Blue Sky Pass, and with the power of the Grand Array, it would be much easier to eliminate these 200 Black Ink Clansmen.
In fact, each Universe Cave Heaven and Universe Paradise had several Grand Arrays arranged for this exact purpose.
Dawn was extremely powerful, and had numerous Seventh-Order Open Heaven Realm Masters, so it didn’t need to rely on Spirit Arrays when it hunted down their targets.
However, not every Squad was as lucky as Dawn, and not every Warship was a match for Dawning Light.
As the Grand Array got closer and closer, and the pursuing Black Ink Clansmen were about to fall into the trap, a blinding light suddenly shone from up ahead.
The Squad Leader was shocked and thought that they were under attack, but when he stared forward, he saw another Warship.
It was a Warship that was very different from the usual Warships!
Instantly, the Squad Leader reacted and cursed, “Damn thieves, did they come here to compete for kills?”
The next instant, a violent energy wave burst from behind them, and the Black Ink Clansmen, who were chasing after them, screamed in agony.
“It’s Dawn!” Some members of the Squad reacted. Dawning Light was incredibly easy to identify, being much bigger and more powerful than standard Squad Warships. It was a Warship envied by many.
It must have cost an enormous amount of Military Merits to build.
“Squad Leader, what do we do?” Someone asked.
The corners of the Seventh-Order Squad Leader’s brow twitched as he growled through gritted teeth, “Turn us around! Attack!”
A short while later, the dust settled.
The two Squads were gathered in one place, and the two Warships were hovering side by side in mid-air, with a sea of bodies and blood below them.
The Squad Leader looked at Yang Kai helplessly as he protested, “Brother Yang, you’re too greedy. Never mind that you had snatched our prey on the battlefield, now you even came over here to rob us of our kills? Can’t you leave some soup for us?”
Yang Kai replied with annoyance, “Senior Brother, Dawn came to help you kill the enemy, but not only is Senior Brother unappreciative, you’re even complaining now?”
The Squad Leader was annoyed, but he did not know what to say in response. Although they could have killed their enemies without Dawn’s help, it would not have been easy, but after receiving their assistance, they did not even thank them and instead criticized Dawn.
The Squad Leader continued, “Brother Yang, why have you all come here? Have you finished killing the Black Ink Clansmen on your end?”
Yang Kai said with a smile, “We disposed of that trash long ago. As for why we came here… all the portals of the Universe Paradises and Universe Cave Heavens were found and opened by me, so I can enter them wherever I want.”
“I forgot about that,” the Squad Leader slapped his forehead. The entire plan Blue Sky Pass set up over the last century was only possible because of Yang Kai. Thus, he knew all the positions of all the hidden Universe Cave Heavens and Universe Paradises.
Yang Kai asked, “Senior Brother, how many Black Ink Clansmen are there in this space? Let’s cooperate to kill them.”
The Squad Leader waved his hand and replied, “There are not many left, just a couple of stray dogs. I don’t need Brother Yang’s help. I saw a few Squads that drew in a significant number of enemies though. Perhaps they are in a bitter fight for their lives. They are the ones who need a team like Dawn to back them up.”
Yang Kai looked at him with a smile and nodded, “If that’s the case, then I’ll leave you to it.”
“Good hunting!” The Squad Leader hastily cupped his fist.
After seeing Dawn leave, the Squad Leader sighed, “We’re both in the Seventh Order, but the difference is too great!”
He had witnessed Yang Kai cut down a Feudal Lord with only a few moves. It was impossible for him to do the same, so he could not help but feel inferior. He was determined that after this battle, he would enter retreat and intensely cultivate. He knew that he could not reach Yang Kai’s level of strength, but he should at least try not to fall too far behind.
A member of his Squad asked, “Squad Leader, there should be a lot more Black Ink Clansmen out there, right? Dawn is so powerful, why didn’t you let them help us kill the enemy?”
Squad Leader glared at him and replied angrily, “If I did that, what would be the point of us being here? To pick up the crumbs they left behind?”
Relying on his mastery over the Dao of Space, Yang Kai was able to easily find the hidden portals on the battlefield; after all, he opened them all by himself and knew the century-old layout of Blue Sky Pass.
However, not one team welcomed them, and they would often politely ask him to leave after an initial battle.
Aboard Dawning Light, Miao Fei Ping was scratching his head as he asked, “Martial Uncle, why are we being treated like pariahs? No one welcomes us.”
Qi Tai Chu slapped him on the back of his head, “You brat! Do you have to ask such an obvious question?”
Yang Kai said with a grin, “Of course no one likes us robbing their Military Merits. The way the Inner Sanctum set up the traps ensures that all Squads are able to handle the enemies that they sucked in. It does not matter if we help them or not. This is different from the previous battles and is a good opportunity for each Squad to harvest Military Merits; thus, they naturally don’t want other Squads to intervene. They also don’t want people to think that they are not strong enough and be ridiculed for nothing.”
Miao Fei Ping suddenly realized and then asked, “So, do we continue?”
“Of course we do,” Yang Kai nodded, “We are not robbing Military Merits, we are just inspecting the battlefield. If they don’t need our help, we will withdraw and go elsewhere. If they need our help, they will ask for it. Fei Ping, you have to remember that in this Black Ink Battlefield, every battle-hardened soldier has their own pride. They can be ungrateful, but we can’t just stand by and not help.”
Miao Fei Ping nodded and replied, “Junior understands.”
As he was talking, Yang Kai suddenly looked in a direction where there seemed to be an abnormal Space Principle fluctuation.
He immediately pushed Dawning Light in that direction and soon arrived at a certain spot. He focused his eyes, only to see that the Void in front of him was like a mirror with a crack in it. From the crack, there was actually the aura of a World flowing out.
He reached out towards the crack and manipulated Space Principles, penetrating the World Barrier to explore the details inside.
Moments later, his expression changed, and he shouted, “Brother Shen, stay here! If any Eighth-Order Open Heaven Realm Master appears, ask him to come here immediately to blockade this place. Everyone else, follow me inside!”
Shen Ao nodded and left Dawning Light to stand quietly in the void.
Feng Ying asked hastily, “What is it?”
Yang Kai opened the portal carefully using Space Principles, and said through gritted teeth, “There’s a big fish inside.”
Everyone in Dawn looked astonished. The big fish that Yang Kai mentioned must be a Territory Lord.
They never expected that there would be a Territory Lord inside!
Blue Sky Pass had been arranging these traps for 100 years with the Great Pass at the centre, splitting the battlefield into two distinct regions, the inner circle and outer circle. In the inner circle, there were Universe Paradises and Universe Cave Heavens which required one Squad each to take control over. Furthermore, the Control Jades were used to pull only a certain number of Black Ink Clansmen inside to be hunted.
At the inner circle, there shouldn’t have been any Territory Lords, so the safety of the Squads could be assured.
The outer circle of the battlefield was meant for Eighth-Order Open Heaven Realm Masters and Territory Lords. There were Universe Cave Heavens specially prepared for Territory Lords there as well, and the inside was arranged with very powerful Spirit Arrays that would be enough to threaten these enemy Masters.
No one had expected that a Territory Lord would slip into the inner circle. Yang Kai did not know which Squad was so unlucky as to encounter this Territory Lord, but it was obvious they were not in a good situation.
As they spoke, the portal was opened and Dawning Light entered like a streak of light. Yang Kai closed the portal again with a wave of his hand, but the cracks in the World Barrier could not be smoothed out no matter what. In fact, the cracks were continuing to increase in size, a sign that the Universe Paradise would not hold up for long.
As Dawning Light appeared in this Universe Paradise, it immediately became like a leaf in a violent storm under the violent surges of energy. The thick Black Ink Strength rushed around them and the Protective Barrier began to flash wildly.
Yang Kai stood at the bow of the ship and looked up, only to see a ragged Warship in front of him fleeing in their direction. A huge Black Ink Cloud was chasing after the failing Warship and it was rapidly closing in. The whole Universe Paradise was filled with a strong sense of foreboding.
Inside the Black Ink Cloud was a particularly fierce aura. It was obviously a Territory Lord and hundreds of Black Ink Clansmen, including many Feudal Lords.
A Black Ink Clan Secret Technique blasted out from the cloud, hitting the fleeing Warship in front of Dawn, causing great damage.
Dawning Light arrived just in time to witness the Territory Lord attack. A huge palm emerged from the Black Ink Cloud and tried to grab the fleeing Warship.
On the Warship, the Human cultivators struggled to counterattack, but with little effect. The difference in strength was so great that they were helpless to repel the Territory Lord’s attack.
Seeing that the big dark hand was about to grab the Warship, a Seventh-Order Open Heaven standing at the stern of the Warship suddenly roared, “Rise!”
As he roared, a Grand Array was activated, and in an instant, it wrapped around the pursuing Black Ink Clansmen.
The Warship did not stop, but ran straight towards the portal. The Grand Array could not trap a Territory Lord for long, but it might be enough to delay him long enough for the Squad to escape this Universe Paradise.
Then, they saw Dawning Light rapidly approaching.
Feng Ying shouted, “Junior Brother Zhou!”
The Seventh-Order Open Heaven Realm Master, who had just activated the Spirit Array, looked at them and exclaimed in surprise, “Senior Sister Feng, what are you doing here?”
Feng Ying said, “Junior Brother Yang noticed something unusual here, so he brought us here to have a look. Why is there a Territory Lord here?”
The Junior Brother Zhou looked annoyed as he replied, “He was hiding in the Black Ink Clan Army, concealing his aura. Clearly, he had some ill intentions. He was caught unaware, and pulled into this place before realizing what was happening.”
“Which Territory Lord is he?” Yang Kai asked.
The Junior Brother Zhou replied, “If I’m not mistaken, he should be Zhou Xing.”
Regardless of which Great Pass Theatre they were in, Eighth-Order Masters and Territory Lords were rare, with there generally being several dozen on each side. The number of Territory Lords was always higher, but not by a wide margin. The two Races had been fighting each other for so many years, so the identities and characteristics of the top Masters had been exposed a long time ago. Thus, the Humans had some knowledge of all the Territory Lords they faced.
Yang Kai silently recalled all the information the Inner Sanctum had published on the Blue Sky Theatre Territory Lords.
Among all of them, Zhou Xing’s strength was not the strongest. He was at most ranked in the middle somewhere, much worse than Hei Yuan for example.
Zhou Xing’s greatest skill was his ability to suppress his own aura. He could perfectly disguise himself as a Feudal Lord and hide within the regular Black Ink Amy. This skill allowed him to easily avoid the Eighth-Order Masters’ eyes, and by doing so, he could seek opportunities to conduct sneak attacks on high-value targets. In all the years of war, several Eighth-Order Open Heaven Realm Masters had been seriously injured by Zhou Xing’s sneak attacks.
This time, he hid in the Black Ink Clan Army, disguised as a Feudal Lord, obviously with malicious intentions, but ended up being trapped here by this Squad. It was yet to be determined if it was his bad luck or the Squad’s misfortunes.
“Junior Brother Zhao was killed by him. Subsequently, we relied on the various Grand Arrays to survive until now.” Junior Brother Zhou’s face was full of grief. It was inevitable that they suffered losses when they encountered a Territory Lord. Junior Brother Zhao was one of the two Seventh-Order Masters of this Squad.
“How much time do we have?” Yang Kai asked.
“Brother Yang, you know that the Spirit Arrays arranged in this Universe Paradise were not designed to deal with Territory Lords, not to mention that Zhou Xing has many helpers with him. The Grand Array will be broken in a dozen breaths at most,” reported Junior Brother Zhou.
“Are there any other Grand Arrays available?”
“No.” Junior Brother Zhou shook his head, “We’ve used up all three Spirit Arrays. If not for those three, I’m afraid none of us would have survived till now. Brother Yang, we need to go. Once Zhou Xing breaks free, it will be too late for us to escape.”
Yang Kai looked ahead and said firmly, “When we came in, there were no Eighth-Order Masters available outside, so they must all still be fighting with the other Territory Lords. If we leave now, Zhou Xing will surely follow us, and there will be no one to tie him down once we get outside.
Junior Brother Zhou asked, “What does Brother Yang intend to do?”
Yang Kai said as he summoned the Azure Dragon Spear, “Hold him back! Soon, there will be an Eighth-Order Master available. Even if he ultimately manages to break free from here, there will be someone outside to take care of him.”
Junior Brother Zhou did not hesitate and immediately agreed, “Good, we’ll do as Brother Yang suggests.”
He also knew that Yang Kai was powerful and Dawn Squad was very strong. His Squad alone had no chance to win against a Territory Lord, but together with Dawn, though they might not be able to kill such a Master, holding him down should not be too much of an issue.
As they discussed, the Grand Array began to crack. Yang Kai shouted, “Leave Zhou Xing to me and take care of yourselves. There’s no need to kill all of them, just delay them as long as you can!”
Immediately after, he lunged straight towards the enemy.
The Grand Array shattered, and Zhou Xing roared angrily from within the Black Ink Cloud. He was furious that a trivial Human Squad tried to toy with him with these few Spirit Arrays. The impudence! He resolved to kill these Humans ruthlessly in order to soothe the rage within him.
Since the Humans now had Purifying Black Ink Pills, Zhou Xing knew that he could not corrupt them with Black Ink Strength; thus, he could only kill them.
However, just as he was about to act, a dazzling light rushed towards him. Zhou Xing looked up and was momentarily bewildered.
He began to wonder how this Universe Paradise suddenly had a small round Sun. Above the Sun, was a three-legged bird squawking away. The small Sun was even travelling towards him at a high speed.
Behind the small Sun, there seemed to be a figure that glowed with a dazzling light.
Suddenly, he realized that it was not the Sun, but some ‘Secret Technique’ cast by a Human!
Even a Territory Lord as strong as Zhou Xing could feel the threat posed by this Secret Technique and knew he would suffer if he took it head-on without defending himself.
Therefore, Zhou Xing raised his hands and the dense Black Ink Clouds gathered to form a barrier to block the direction where the small Sun was coming from.
Violent sounds erupted as rampaging energy waves swept over Zhou Xing’s body. The Black Ink Cloud thinned noticeably under the blazing energy that was hot enough to incinerate everything in its path.
However, he was a Territory Lord, so although Yang Kai’s Golden Crow Casts the Sun was powerful, it could not harm the former in any way. On the other hand, the Black Ink Clansmen around Zhou Xing died immediately.
Before Zhou Xing could compose himself, a curtain of spear shadows enveloped him, causing black blood to splash out and drawing a roar from Zhou Xing’s lips.
At the same time, the two Warships launched a volley of attacks from their offensive arrays.
The Black Ink Clansmen were instantly thrown into confusion.
Under the leadership of Zhou Xing, they had continued to chase down the Human Warship until they had nowhere else to run, so how could they now turn around to attack them?
However, moments later, the Territory Lord saw what was happening. Originally there was only one Warship, but now, there were two. Apparently, reinforcements had arrived.
Moreover, the Warship that arrived was significantly larger and more powerful!
The Black Ink Clansmen, in spite of suffering many casualties in the initial attack, remained undaunted. Led by several Feudal Lords, they used their Secret Techniques to counterattack, forcing the two Warships to weave and dodge.
Both the Warship of Junior Brother Zhou and Dawning Light were damaged in the previous battle, particularly their shields which had been seriously drained; thus, they were focused on not being hit again.
This gave the Black Ink Clansman a respite as hundreds of them, led by the Feudal Lords, began to bombard the Warships relentlessly.
The two Warships were forced to constantly manoeuvre around, reducing the intensity of their attacks greatly.
On the other hand, Zhou Xing took hundreds of wounds to his body in a very short time. He tried to dodge the attacks but was unable to do so effectively. He was being attacked by Yang Kai’s Supreme Limitless Spear Art enhanced by his Space Principles, so dodging at such close range was all but futile.
The pain caused Zhou Xing to become increasingly furious and he responded ruthlessly. Since he could not dodge, he gave up trying and attacked instead. In his fury, he threw a punch forward with all his strength.
He wanted to trade wound for wound!
He could sense that the Human attacking him was only a Seventh-Order Master, and since he was a Territory Lord, if he traded wounds with his opponent, he would eventually come out on top.
His punch was very effective, as the Seventh-Order Human was blown far away, coughing up blood in mid-air. Zhou Xing continued with another punch to deliver another painful blow to his attacker.
The other party’s body suddenly flickered, then disappeared.
Zhou Xing’s punch hit nothing but air, causing him to be thrown off balance. Just as he was wondering where his target went, he felt a murderous intent coming from his side.
Turning his head to look, the Seventh-Order Master who had disappeared moments ago appeared right next to him somehow. The Human’s spear was thrust out sharply with a small round Sun at its tip.
Zhou Xing was taken aback but swiftly responded by throwing out his fist.
The small Sun was annihilated, but Zhou Xing was also forced backwards, his fists scorched as he grimaced painfully.
Although he was injured, his enemy was in a far worse state, spewing more fresh blood as he flew backwards for a second time.
The difference in their raw strength could not be compensated for by bravery and persistence alone.
Yang Kai had killed a Territory Lord previously; however, he managed to kill Zhu Feng only because Bai Yi joined forces with him. Both he and Bai Yi were seriously injured in that battle though, despite Zhu Feng having been seriously wounded from the start. Even back in Mu Guang’s Royal Domain, Yang Kai was only able to chase after Hei Yuan and fight with him because the latter’s Soul was badly injured.
Although Zhou Xing was not as strong as Hei Yuan, or even Zhu Feng, he was currently at full strength; thus, Yang Kai’s current might was insufficient to kill him.
The good thing was that he only needed to stall for time and not really fight Zhou Xing to the death. A few injuries were not a big deal as long as they did not damage his foundation.
Focusing, Yang Kai kept up his attacks and fought back and forth with Zhou Xing.
Of course, he was frequently on the receiving end, but with his Space Principles, it was impossible for Zhou Xing to kill him with a single blow.
Time passed slowly.
Half an hour later, only one of the two Warships was left.
Junior Brother Zhou’s Warship was badly damaged from the start, and now that it was being attacked by hundreds of Black Ink Clansmen, after taking several hits, it finally could not hold on and burst apart.
Before the Warship was destroyed, all the Squad members transferred over to Dawning Light, relying on Feng Ying and the others to cover them during the evacuation. Thankfully, there were no casualties.
The two Squads converged on Dawning Light, but their overall strength did not increase. The reason was that all the artifacts and arrays on Dawning Light were being actively used by their regular personnel. The additional hands allowed them to rotate more frequently to rest, but did not enhance the instantaneous lethality of Dawning Light.
Now, the whole Universe Paradise’s situation was not looking good.
This Universe Paradise was left behind after the death of a Seventh-Order Human Master, so although it had become an independent Sealed World now, it had its limits. Before Dawn entered, there were already cracks in the World Barrier of this Universe Paradise caused by the fallout of Zhou Xing’s attacks.
It was because of those cracks that Yang Kai could peek inside and detect that there was a Territory Lord within. That led to Yang Kai deciding to enter with Dawn to render aid.
Now that Yang Kai and Zhou Xing were engaged in a fierce battle, the violent energy surges caused the entire Universe Paradise to become increasingly unstable. Little cracks could be seen all over and this Universe Paradise would collapse soon.
If they remained within the Universe Paradise when it collapsed, then it was very likely that they would be pulled into the Void. When that happened, there was no telling where they would end up.
It was with this in mind that the Eighth-Order Open Heaven Realm Masters had to be sent into the Universe Cave Heavens, which were more stable. This way, the Eighth-Order Division Commanders and Territory Lords could fight for a longer time without worries. If they were in Universe Paradises, they would collapse not long after they started fighting.
This Universe Paradise was facing the risk of collapsing at any moment.
Yang Kai was proficient in the Dao of Space, and was not afraid of the impending collapse. Even if he was really sent to the Void, he would be able to find his way back fairly easily. There was even a chance that he could exile Zhou Xing to the Void and simply leave him trapped there to die alone.
However, there were still two Squads here, so he couldn’t do that.
Thus, after a few more exchanges with Zhou Xing, Yang Kai immediately dashed towards Dawning Light while using the Divine Sense to send a message, “Go! Now!”
After such a long delay, the situation outside should have been settled; thus, there should be a few Eighth-Order Open Heaven Masters available.
Dawning Light had taken up position near the portal, so when Yang Kai’s order came, Junior Brother Zhou immediately took out his Control Jade and shot a light into the sky. The portal opened and Dawning Light sped out, followed closely behind by Yang Kai.
The hundreds of Black Ink Clansmen who were following Dawning Light saw this and followed after with Zhou Xing being the last to leave before the portal closed again.
However, before Zhou Xing could stabilize himself, a bright light came down on him, instantly destroying all his defences and inflicting a huge wound on his body.
Zhou Xing roared in pain and anger, turning his head to look at who had attacked him, only for his eyes to shrink as he shouted, “Zhong Liang!”
Not only was Zhong Liang there, but also Ding Yao and Liang Yu Long. The three of them surrounded him in a triangle. Zhou Xing’s heart sank into the abyss as he knew there was no escape for him.
These three Army Commanders were all peak Eighth-Order Masters.
When the Humans Squads took action, these Eight-Order Masters used their own Control Jades to pull a Territory Lord into their respective Universe Cave Heavens. Even though their strength was greater than the Black Ink Clan Territory Lords, it was impossible to kill their opponent so quickly in a fair fight.
However, Blue Sky Pass had arranged multiple Spirit Arrays in these Universe Cave Heavens, which gave the Eight-Order Masters a significant advantage.
Those Spirit Arrays all cost an enormous amount of resources and were arranged by the Array Great Grandmasters, so any Territory Lord who fell into them would see their strength suppressed.
With their superior strength, geographical advantage, and the assistance of several Spirit Arrays, it was not surprising that Zhong Liang and the others killed their opponents in short order.
The three of them had just emerged from their respective Universe Cave Heavens when they were informed by Shen Ao of what had happened. The only reason they didn’t force their way in was they weren’t certain what kind of repercussions that would cause for those inside the Universe Paradise.
When Dawning Light and Yang Kai appeared, followed by hundreds of Black Ink Clansmen, the three Army Commanders swiftly slaughtered the mixed fish before turning their attention to Zhou Xing.
The strength of this Territory Lord was considered average at best, so how could Zhou Xing be a match for the three Army Commanders? Zhong Liang and the other two of them did not even utter a word before using their respective Secret Techniques to attack Zhou Xing from all sides.
Not far away, Yang Kai and others watched from afar aboard Dawning Light. Not only them, but many other Squads, who had already cleaned up their opponents, observed the show. These Squads had shown up one after another, surrounding the whole battlefield layer after layer.
“Zhou Xing is doomed,” Feng Ying said softly. Under the combined attacks of three Army Commanders, even the strongest Territory Lords would not be able to survive, so Zhou Xing’s fall was simply a matter of time.
Yang Kai’s attention was not on Zhou Xing and the three Army Commanders though, but instead focused on somewhere far away.
Hundreds of thousands of kilometres away, powerful explosions were taking place. For him to be able to sense the shockwaves this far away meant that the strength of those fighting was overwhelming.
Outside Blue Sky Pass, there were no forces close to where the battle was taking place; thus, it was obvious the fight in the distance was between the Old Ancestor and the Royal Lord.
It was unknown when and how the two began to fight. At least Yang Kai did not notice it before now. However, even Eighth-Order Masters could not intervene easily in this kind of battle. Thus, Yang Kai also did not think of going to watch.
The Royal Lord and Old Ancestor were old rivals, and this battle was likely to end in a mutual loss.
Portals continued to open around them, and from those portals emerged the victorious Squads. Eighth-Order Open Heaven Realm Masters also appeared one after another, while some Territory Lords appeared immediately after them.
It was not that these Territory Lords managed to kill the Eighth-Order Masters to get out of the trap; after all, there were Spirit Arrays arranged in the Universe Cave Heavens to make it impossible for them to escape even if they killed the Eighth-Order Division Commanders fighting against them. However, when the fight dragged on for too long, the Universe Cave Heaven itself would become unstable, making a collapse imminent.
Therefore, the Eighth-Order Open Heaven Realm Master had no choice but to open the portal to leave so as not to get caught up in the collapse. When that happened, the Territory Lord could naturally follow them out.
Those Territory Lords who were lucky to have survived all immediately used whatever means they had to escape. They knew that after the Humans had activated these traps, which took them 100 years to set up, the Black Ink Clan was done for. Sticking around was akin to courting death; thus, they had to escape. It was only by escaping that they stood a chance to survive and recover from this disaster; therefore, they held no desire to fight anymore and only sought the opportunity to flee.
Of course, those Eighth-Order Heaven Realm Masters who failed to kill their respective opponents inside their assigned Universe Cave Heaven would not let their prey go easily and continued to chase them across the void.
Under the attacks of the three Army Commanders, Zhou Xing was only able to last less than a half cup of tea’s time before Ding Yao smashed his head with his fist.
More and more Squads emerged from different portals, largely intact. Thankfully, Junior Brother Zhou Squad’s unlucky encounter was a unique case.
Also appearing were many lone Eighth-Order Open Heaven Realm Masters, appearances of which meant the fall of a Territory Lord.
It was a glorious result.
The Human Race had been resisting the Black Ink Clan for so many years, and the two sides had fought countless times, but never had there been such a decisive victory.
They could see that about 20 Territory Lords had been killed, and that was not counting those who were still fighting and had not shown up. There would certainly be more as time passed.
In the past, killing more than 20 Territory Lords in one battle was simply unimaginable. The most Territory Lords that had been killed in a single battle was 5, and that was at the cost of 2 Eighth-Order Division Commanders.
Considering the strength of the Territory Lords, while it wasn’t too difficult for the Eighth-Order Masters to defeat them, killing them was a much more difficult task.
If not for the Universe Cave Heaven traps, which had been set up in advance, how could Blue Sky Pass achieve such overwhelming success?
Yang Kai was also overwhelmed. When he first helped Blue Sky Pass find the portals for the Universe Paradise and Universe Cave Heaven, he knew that they could give Black Ink Clan a nasty surprise, but he did not expect it to be to this magnitude.
If Blue Sky Pass had such great success, then Yin-Yang Pass would also have good results; after all, he also helped them to open up the Universe Cave Heavens and Universe Paradises around their Great Pass.
Even so, the news of this enormous defeat would certainly be circulated around the Black Ink Clan. Thus, it was unrealistic for Yin-Yang Pass to expect results of this magnitude.
With so many Territory Lords killed, there were naturally hundreds of times more dead and injured weaker Black Ink Clansmen.
One battle had changed the entire course of the war! The Black Ink Clan in the Blue Sky Theatre had suffered an enormous defeat. What awaited Blue Sky Pass, was a period of peace for at least 1,000 years or more, during which the Black Ink Clan would not be able to attack.
However, was this enough to satisfy Zhong Liang and the other higher-ups?
This was the best opportunity for them to add insult to injury to the Black Ink Clan.
Thus, two days later, Blue Sky Pass gathered 30 Eighth-Order Open Heaven Realm Masters and 20,000 troops led by several Army Commanders to advance deeper into the void towards the Black Ink Clan’s territory.
Blue Sky Pass did not go all out this time, still leaving behind a large contingent to watch over the Great Pass. Additionally, there were some Universe Cave Heaven fights that had not yet concluded that required a few Eighth-Order Open Heaven Realm Masters to watch over.
30 Eighth-Orders and a 20,000-strong Army was almost half of the combat strength of Blue Sky Pass. They could not take out more soldiers.
Since Yang Kai had brought Purifying Light, Zhong Liang and the others had been planning for this crusade; however, any foray into the enemy’s territory was of great importance and would take time to prepare for.
Now that the opportunity had come, they were eager to push back against the enemy, who was seriously weakened, and aim for the Royal City!
Naturally, Blue Sky Pass held little expectation that this campaign would be enough to wipe out the Black Ink Clan entirely. As long as the Royal Lord was not dead, the Royal City would not fall. This was just a kind of experiment for the future. At the same time, it was also to establish a precedent and prove that it was possible to take the fight to the Black Ink Clan!
This was a long-established plan; however, except for the Eighth-Order Commanders, no one below them in rank knew about it. Thus, after hearing about the crusade, numerous Open Heavens Realm Masters were very excited.
The Human Race have been trapped in various Great Passes for years, and finally, they had the chance to launch a real counter-attack.
Blue Sky Pass had clearly planned this crusade for a long time. It was impossible to come up with such a plan in just two days.
The Expeditionary Force was led by two Army Commanders, Ding Yao and Liang Yu Long. Two Purifying Black Ink Battleships were deployed along with about 1,500 Warships of various Ranks.
The huge force set off from Blue Sky Pass as soon as preparations were completed.
Dawn was also part of the Expeditionary Force, its Squad members taking turns to operate Dawning Light while the ones off duty spent their time in their cabins to restore themselves.
The damage to Dawning Light had been repaired by the Array Masters and Artifact Refiners before they departed Blue Sky Pass, so it was as good as new.
However, for this crusade, they were not taking many Array Masters and Artifact Refiners with them; thus, if a Warship got damaged, it might not be able to be repaired in short order.
This crusade was very different from guarding the Great Pass. When backed by Blue Sky Pass, the Humans could fight with confidence and without fear. Even if their Warship was damaged, logistical support was close by. However, a crusade was not the same, as the supply lines and logistics to support the soldiers would be stretched out over a much larger area.
If this matter was not addressed, it would become a major constraint for this crusade.
However, this shortfall could not be satisfactorily resolved. If all the available Array Masters and Artifact Refiners were mobilized for the crusade, they would require a large contingent of soldiers to protect them, reducing the crusade’s overall fighting capability.
Meanwhile, this crusade was more of an attempt to make a statement rather than a concerted effort to eliminate the Black Ink Clan once and for all.
Half a month after the Expeditionary Force left Blue Sky Pass, it fought its first major battle with a Black Ink Clan Army of nearly 300,000!
The 700,000 Black Ink Clansmen that had previously attacked Blue Sky Pass were all basically dead or severely wounded, so these 300,000 were assembled from the Black Ink Clan’s reserves.
This was the Black Ink Clan’s modus operandi, sending in wave after wave of soldiers to fight a protracted battle. Each time a siege happened at a Great Pass, the Humans would have to endure many waves of attacks by the subsequent enemy reinforcements, and this time was no exception.
However, the collapse of the Black Ink Clan’s Main Army on the front line was too sudden. Blue Sky Pass’ 100-year plan was a huge trap that sucked the Black Ink Clan Army into numerous Universe Paradises and Cave Heavens, where they were mercilessly slaughtered.
The reinforcement army that came from the Black Ink Clan did not get the news in time and was led by a sole Territory Lord as they flew towards Blue Sky Pass.
When they encountered each other, the leading Territory Lord obviously was not aware of what had happened and was caught completely off guard.
Of the 300,000 reinforcements, nearly 200,000 were cannon fodder while only 100,000 were High-Rank or above. Besides the lone Territory Lord, the strongest Masters among the troops were the Feudal Lords.
Such a lineup was no match for the elite soldiers of the Expeditionary Force.
The Territory Lord quickly realized that something was amiss and immediately ordered all the Low-Rank cannon fodder to charge towards the Expeditionary Force while he fled at the first opportunity. He did not even bother about the rest of his 100,000 troops.
It was another great victory for the Humans. The 300,000 Black Ink Clan Army was overwhelmed. With no Territory Lords to lead and shelter them, there was no one to fight off the 30 Eighth-Order Open Heaven Realm Masters. Thus, the Warships just sailed forward in a straight line and mowed down the scattered Black Ink Clansmen.
They took just one day to defeat this reinforcement army. The Expeditionary Force then continued to advance undeterred, with its sights set on the Royal City.
Along the way, any Black Ink Clansmen that they encountered were slaughtered.
After another month, they arrived at the first territory controlled by a Territory Lord.
This was one of the outermost Territory Lord territories, so the one assigned here was naturally not very powerful as he would be the first to bear the brunt of any Human attacks.
In fact, this Territory Lord’s domain had been attacked by Humans before. The last time the Old Ancestor led a large army to attack this territory, Yang Kai was living here with Nu Yan.
According to the limited information available to Blue Sky Pass, the owner of this territory was named Gou Wu.
Gou Wu was dead though, killed by an Eighth-Order Division Commander of the Southern Army in one of the Universe Cave Heavens outside of Blue Sky Pass.
Thus, Gou Wu’s territory was leaderless.
As the Expeditionary Force marched on, it was inevitable that news of their advance spread; however, they did not meet any real form of resistance. Even Gou Wu’s territory was essentially unprotected by the Black Ink Clan. There were some Black Ink Clansmen who were brave enough to attack the Expeditionary Force, but many realized that it was suicidal and simply fled deeper into Black Ink Clan territory.
It only took a few hours for the Expeditionary Force to capture Gou Wu’s home territory. Although they killed many, those were mostly Serfs and Low-Rank Clansmen.
This was only to be expected. Most of Gou Wu’s forces were deployed to participate in the siege of Blue Sky Pass and were thus already dead. When those who were left behind saw the advancing Expeditionary Force, they naturally knew that whoever was sent to Blue Sky Pass had been annihilated. Thus, those that could immediately turned around and ran for their lives.
The Expeditionary Force did not stop after they captured this area. Both Ding Yao and Zhong Liang knew that speed was of the essence, so only a small number of men were assigned to clean up the battlefield while the rest of the army continued on.
The so-called battlefield cleanup was nothing more than plundering resources.
It was just like what Yang Kai had done in Mu Guang’s Royal Domain. A Territory Lord’s home territory was the most prosperous place in every region. It usually had a lot of stores and cultivation resources that the Expeditionary Force would not want to miss out on.
Yang Kai also stayed behind.
However, he was not interested in plundering resources as they were not attractive to him anymore. The resources in his Small Universe were already inexhaustible to him.
The reason he stayed was to acquire a sub-nest.
Some time ago, he brought Miao Fei Ping to a Feudal Lord’s territory and moved the Low-Rank Black Ink Nest into his Small Universe, but it withered away soon after. It was obvious that a mature Black Ink Nest could not be moved easily. It was like a big tree, so cutting its roots to move it would kill it.
If he could get an unhatched sub-nest and nurture it in his Small Universe, it might be different.
Feng Ying also stayed and acted as his protector since Yang Kai was vulnerable when his consciousness was connected to the Black Ink Nest. There would be trouble if a hidden Black Ink Clansman jumped out and attacked him.
Feng Ying frowned as she watched Yang Kai enter the Territory Lord’s Black Ink Nest.
The aura inside the Black Ink Nest made her feel extremely uncomfortable and even a bit nauseous. If she did not have to stand guard for Yang Kai, she would never have gotten close to such a place.
As Yang Kai walked along, he soon came to the central chamber.
Yang Kai pondered and appeared hesitant to act.
To be honest, although he had been inside Black Ink Nests before, and had even taken advantage of their strange network to defeat many Feudal Lords by destroying their consciousnesses, he still did not understand how to hatch a sub-nest. After all, Zha Gu never told him about it.
Obviously, hatching a sub-nest was a function of a Territory Lord Black Ink Nest and required a certain amount of resources, but as to the exact process, Yang Kai was clueless.
In front of Yang Kai was the Black Ink Pool, where Black Ink Strength tumbled and surged as if it were an Ominous Beast.
Yang Kai opened his Small Universe and used his own World Force as a bridge to connect his consciousness with that of the Black Ink Nest’s consciousness to investigate a little.
To his surprise, he did not enter the strange space this time. It was as if his whole body was one with Black Ink Nest, and he could see the state of Black Ink Nest as if it were his own.
Yang Kai instantly understood that different locations of the Black Ink Nest had different purposes. This place, where the Black Ink Pool was located, was where the Black Ink Clansmen would be bred and sub-nests created.
[To think it’s this simple!]
With an idea in mind, Yang Kai immediately began to work, taking a large amount of resources from his Small Universe and injecting them into the Black Ink Pool.
The Black Ink Strength inside the Black Ink Pool tumbled more and more fiercely, and as the vast amount of resources disappeared, the abundant energy was greedily absorbed by the Black Ink Nest.
After a few moments, the walls of the chamber, which were fleshy, seemed to form a tumour. The tumour rapidly grew and the wall suddenly broke open, and a wet, beast-like Black Ink Clansman came out, trembling.
Pa pa…
More tearing sounds rang out as the chamber’s flesh walls soon hatched more than a dozen Black Ink Clansmen of different forms.
Feng Ying felt a stinging chill as she watched all this. Although she knew that the Black Ink Nest gave birth to Black Ink Clansmen, no Human had actually witnessed the process before.
These Black Ink Clansmen were not entirely hatched by Yang Kai. They had not been fully formed before he entered this place, and thus, had not hatched. After Yang Kai injected resources into the Black Ink Pool, their development was accelerated and they managed to hatch.
The newly hatched Black Ink Clansmen were not much of a threat, not even qualified to be cannon fodder, so Feng Ying flicked her longsword and the wave of Sword Qi killed them all on the spot. She then shouted, “Squad Leader!”
Yang Kai opened his eyes and saw the situation around him, and immediately responded, “I’ll change my approach.”
It was his first time trying to create a Black Ink Nest, and he was not sure how to do it, so he accidentally hatched a dozen Black Ink Clansmen.
However, after he made some adjustments, the fleshy tumour wall no longer broke open, and no more Black Ink Clansmen were born. Instead, the entire Black Ink Pool was filled with rich power and stirred more and more.
Feng Ying felt that it was a pity for such a large amount of resources to be sacrificed to the Black Ink Pool.
Blue Sky Pass had only become affluent in the recent several dozen years, after Yang Kai introduced the Void Yin-Yang Mirrors. In the past, cultivation resources were very tight in every Great Pass so they had to save as much as they could, whenever they could.
She was used to living in poverty, so she cringed when she saw Yang Kai throwing away resources in such a manner.
However, she also knew that Yang Kai had his own reasons. If he could get a Black Ink Nest, it would definitely be of great use. The interoperability between the Black Ink Nest and the Black Ink Clan might even allow them to spy on the Black Ink Clan without having to leave their own territory.
It was not certain how many resources were put into the Black Ink Pool, but after a few days, it suddenly trembled as the water swirled. Something was about to emerge from it.
Feng Ying looked over and a few moments later, a small and exquisite Black Ink Nest emerged from the churning water.
At the same time, Yang Kai also eased what he was doing and looked at the little Black Ink Nest that spawned from the Black Ink Pool. He exhaled gently when he realized that his efforts were not in vain.
Although he had succeeded in obtaining a sub-nest, Yang Kai was not sure if it would work given the special connection between the Territory Lord Black Ink Nests and the Feudal Lord Black Ink Nests.
Even so, he had to try it out to be sure.
After putting the sub-nest into his Small Universe, Yang Kai did not rush to hatch it. He just temporarily placed it somewhere isolated.
A little while later, he, along with Feng Ying, left the place.
“Squad Leader, do you intend to destroy the Black Ink Nest?” Feng Ying asked.
Yang Kai nodded, “Of course, I can’t leave it for the Black Ink Clan to use.”
Feng Ying flicked out her sword, sending out a flying slash that split the Black Ink Nest in half in an instant. Rich Black Ink Strength gushed out from the two halves and it began to wither away.
Yang Kai kept checking up on the sub-nest in Small Universe, and after a moment, he could not help but sigh, “I thought as much.”
The sub-nest that he had spent a lot of resources to obtain withered rapidly after the Territory Lord Black Ink Nest was destroyed. Although he had expected this outcome, he still felt disappointed.
It seemed that the connection between this Mid-Rank Black Ink Nest and the Low-Rank Black Ink Nests bred from it was unbreakable, and not even moving it to his Small Universe could isolate it. If the Mid-Rank Black Ink Nest connected to it was destroyed, the Low-Rank Black Ink sub-nests would not be spared either.
It was only when the Mid-Rank Black Ink Nest was left in place, that Yang Kai would be able to preserve the sub-nest.
However, this was obviously unrealistic. No matter how strong the Expeditionary Force was, they would not be able to fully eliminate all Black Ink Clansmen around Blue Sky Pass. As long as the Black Ink Clan here had not been completely annihilated, leaving any Black Ink Nest around would only benefit the Black Ink Clan.
After composing himself, Yang Kai used his Divine Sense to check the area and ascertained that this place was already empty. His allies who had stayed behind to collect resources had already left.
Thus, he and Feng Ying used the Universe Transference Law to return to Dawning Light.
For a time, the Expeditionary Force’s momentum was unstoppable. As it marched on, the Black Ink Clan was unable to form any effective resistance against its overwhelming power, and most fled before they even arrived.
Half a year after the Expeditionary Force’s initial sortie, they had captured four domains owned by Territory Lords. They had also destroyed four Mid-Rank Black Ink Nests and swept clean several dozen Feudal Lord Fiefs.
This was when the Expeditionary Force advanced in a straight path. It had to be said that they could have achieved much more if they were willing to take some detours.
After six months, the Expeditionary Force finally encountered a tough battle.
Three Territory Lord domains away from the Royal City, the Black Ink Clan once again gathered an army numbering in the hundreds of thousands. This army fought the Expeditionary Force with dogged determination.
The Black Ink Clan’s counterattack became fiercer as the Expeditionary Force marched deeper into their territory. This Human incursion was a huge insult to their pride. They had always been the ones to attack. This was the first time in countless years that the Humans had attacked them so close to the Royal City.
These three Territory Lord’s domains were all that was left before the Humans could assault the Royal City. It would be a great embarrassment for the entire Black Ink Clan if their Royal City was infringed upon.
Although many Territory Lords died during the most recent siege of Blue Sky Pass, they were not totally annihilated. The original number of Territory Lords was greater than the number of Eighth-Order Humans. Taking into account those who were not deployed, and those who had escaped from Blue Sky Pass though, there were at least 40 Territory Lords still alive.
The Black Ink Clan Army, led by more than 20 Territory Lords, stood in front of the Expeditionary Force.
The two sides fought nearly 100 battles in just three months. Each side incurred losses of varying degrees. The resilience and determination of the Expeditionary Force shocked the Black Ink Clan, and many were killed in this defensive battle. Still, they continued to regroup, attack, and suffer over and over again without any hesitation.
The Black Ink Clan had a huge advantage in terms of location. Their reinforcements did not have to travel far, so they could easily gather together from all sides and even look for opportunities to surround the Expeditionary Force.
The battle raged throughout this Territory Lord’s domain, and it was so bloody that this vast stretch of the void soon turned into a massive grave for the Black Ink Clan.
It was not until a year later that the Territory Lord’s domain was completely conquered. In that year of battle, more than a million Black Ink Clansmen died. The nearby void was literally covered in thick Black Ink Strength, and huge Black Ink Clouds blotted out the sky.
Other than the legions of Black Ink Clan cannon fodder that were killed, two more Territory Lords had fallen in this year-long battle.
As the remnants of the Black Ink Clan retreated to the next Territory Lord domain, and the Expeditionary Force continued to advance, it was only to be expected that the Humans would be greeted by fiercer counterattacks and resistance.
This was similar to the situation that Yang Kai encountered when he wreaked havoc in the Yin-Yang Theatre. The deeper he went into Black Ink Clan territory, the more concentrated the enemy resistance became.
The Expeditionary Force set up a temporary camp on a massive universe fragment in the domain of the recently conquered Territory Lord domain. The Array Masters arranged a massive Grand Array to isolate the surrounding Black Ink Strength so that the soldiers could rest and recuperate.
30 Eighth-Order Division Commanders, led by Ding Yao and Liang Yu Long, gathered in one of the largest tents.
Yang Kai was summoned and saluted before looking at the two men sitting in front, “What are your orders, Seniors?”
Ding Yao said, “How many Universe Arrays are needed to set up a direct link to Blue Sky Pass from here?”
The Universe Array was an extremely convenient tool that allowed cultivators to use the Universe Transference Law to return to it any time they wanted. As long as they were in the same World, there was, theoretically, no limit to the distance one could traverse. However, there were still limits to what individual cultivators could endure.
This place was very far away from Blue Sky Pass. Even so, those from Blue Sky Pass could still use the Universe Arrays aboard the Purifying Black Ink Battleships to communicate with the Expeditionary Force. However, if a cultivator really tried to teleport back directly, not many of them would be able to survive the stresses of the transit through the Void. Even a Seventh-Order Open Heaven Realm Master faced the risk of instant death if they attempted it. Perhaps only the Eighth-Order Masters could safely accomplish this.
Thus, there had to be a transit point set up using another Universe Array.
Yang Kai was the only one capable of doing this, which was why the Eighth-Order Masters summoned him.
Yang Kai pondered for a moment before answering, “Considering the endurance limits of those in the Fifth Order, two should be enough.”
Ding Yao nodded and replied, “As expected.”
Yang Kai’s heart skipped a beat as he asked, “Isn’t the Expeditionary Force continuing?”
Ding Yao shook his head, “We can’t. Although the Black Ink Clan suffered huge losses, we’ve also suffered casualties. The Expeditionary Force soldiers need to take Purifying Black Ink Pills every time they fight against the Black Ink Clan. After such a long crusade, the Purifying Black Ink Pill stock is running low. The Warships have also suffered varying degrees of damage, which could not be repaired in the heat of battle. Additionally, there are other considerations, so this crusade has to stop here.”
Yang Kai understood all these issues and had also anticipated this happening sooner or later. In fact, those in the Expeditionary Force with a little bit of foresight were aware that they were at the limit of what they could do so far away from Blue Sky Pass. Casualties would begin to rapidly climb if the Expeditionary Force advanced any further.
Additionally, the closer they got to the Royal City, the more intense the Black Ink Clan’s resistance would become. Blue Sky Pass’s forces could not bear such losses.
Although the crusade was not completely successful, it was still a great victory for the Humans to take the fight to the Black Ink Clan.
Privately, the soldiers were discussing when the Expeditionary Force would withdraw, but there were many different opinions and no definite conclusions; after all, only the Eighth-Order Open Heaven Realm Masters had the authority to decide such matters. A Seventh-Order Master like Yang Kai did not have the authority to discuss such matters with the Eighth-Order Masters.
However, what Ding Yao said seemed to indicate that he did not intend to withdraw. If they were to withdraw, why bother arranging more Universe Arrays?
Yang Kai suddenly realized something and asked, “Sirs, do you intend to permanently occupy the ground we’ve taken and reduce the territory controlled by the Black Ink Clan?”
Liang Yu Long smiled and said, “You’re a quick one. En, we intend to hold our position here, expanding our territory while reducing the Black Ink Clan’s. The Expeditionary Force has spent so much time and paid so much to gain such a large swath of territory, how could we give it up just like that? The Expeditionary Force will not move forward, but we will also not retreat. We will build a forward outpost here and repel any Black Ink Clansmen that dare to enter its range. The Black Ink Clan must be seething to have lost so much territory. Just by the losses of the Black Ink Clan after the battles, it would take them over 1,000 years to rebuild their forces. As long as the Expeditionary Force is here though, there is no way the Black Ink Clan can completely restore their foundation.
Yang Kai was shocked by the boldness of these Eighth-Order Masters.
By doing this, the Black Ink Clan would surely have hard times ahead. Not only would they lose almost half of their territories, but all the resources of those territories would be denied to them. Without those resources, rebuilding their army would take twice as long.
Thus, even if the Expeditionary Force was not as powerful as the whole of Blue Sky Pass, as long as they held their ground here, they would be able to restrict the restoration of the Black Ink Clan in this Theatre.
Yang Kai even predicted that the Expeditionary Force would continue to launch attacks from time to time in order to hamper the Black Ink Clan’s recovery efforts.
When the time was right, assaulting and conquering the Royal City was certainly a possibility. Such a glorious goal could not be accomplished overnight though and would take many years of effort.
Compared to a direct attack on the Royal City, this tactic was much slower, but it was more secure and assured. Furthermore, the current situation did not allow the Expeditionary Force to continue their march forward. Their logistics could not keep up and the soldiers of the Expeditionary Force needed to rest and recuperate just as much as the Black Ink Clan.
Blue Sky Pass only had some 30,000 to 40,000 soldiers, so building a forward outpost here would spread its forces thin. On top of that, the Universe Arrays that needed to be set up between the two had to be guarded, which would consume more manpower.
Even so, these were none of Yang Kai’s concern as the Eighth-Order Open Heaven Realm Masters would be the ones working out the details.
What he needed to do now was find suitable locations for the two Universe Arrays, and then link the Expeditionary Force and Blue Sky Pass together, to ensure that they could support each other rapidly.
That was the reason the Eighth-Order Open Heaven Realm Masters had summoned him to the meeting.
A universe fragment inside a certain Territory Lord’s domain, which was captured, became the forward base of Blue Sky Pass.
Although the crusade was over for now, the great war with the Black Ink Clan would not stop anytime soon. The Expeditionary Force had advanced in a straight line, capturing any Black Ink Clan territories along the way; however, those on either side of their advance could not be ignored.
That meant that they had disregarded a lot of potential enemies, who were now technically behind their lines.
If the Expeditionary Force were to withdraw, they would not need to pay attention to these enemies; however, now that they wanted to hold their position here and establish a forward base, they had to go back and clear out those territories.
At the very least, the forward base had to be protected from a Black Ink Clan siege on all sides. The Black Ink Clan had lost a lot of resources and manpower in this battle, and with less than 40 Territory Lords left, which was basically half of their previous total, they had pulled back most of their forces to protect the Royal City and no longer dared to move around freely.
Thus, while the forward base was surrounded by Black Ink Clansmen, they were mostly stragglers and weaklings. The Humans only needed to spend a little time and effort to clear up all those Black Ink Clansmen behind them.
It was foreseeable that clearing the Black Ink Clansmen between Blue Sky Pass and the forward base would be the next big task required of Blue Sky Pass.
The forward base was soon bustling with activity.
Several Warships began to deploy to certain locations in the void and formed a defence perimeter.
Then, a remote area was selected and several Warships descended to ensure that it was safe.
After a few moments of searching around, a depression in a mountain valley was identified.
There were countless such places like this in the void and this valley was very well hidden, making it suitable for setting up a Universe Array. Obviously, even if the Black Ink Clan were to pass by this place, they would not be able to find anything without intentionally searching for it.
Furthermore, if the Universe Array was really set up here, it would be covered by Spirit Arrays and guarded by soldiers. Thus, if there was an attack, reinforcements would soon be able to come and provide support.
The Warships were led by Dawning Light, and two Eighth-Order Open Heaven Division Commanders went along just in case they were needed.
Yang Kai began arranging the Universe Array while the Array Masters who came along with him began to set up various Spirit Arrays around the mountain valley. Some for cover, some for protection, and various other kinds of support and auxiliary purposes.
In the past, Blue Sky Pass did not have the number of resources necessary to engage in such an endeavour; after all, Spirit Arrays of this size and quality required a huge amount of resources. The more powerful the Spirit Array, the more resources were needed. In the past, Blue Sky Pass was so poor that it could not do these things; but now, it was different. Apart from the resources collected from their previous conquests, they could now easily mine more from the vast territory they had occupied.
After the work was completed, everyone left their Imprints on the Universe Array and an Eighth-Order Master and a Battalion worth of soldiers stayed behind to guard it while the rest continued to the next location.
Taking into account the capacity of those Fifth-Order Open Heaven Realm Masters, only two Universe Arrays were required.
A few months later, the second Universe Array was completely set up, connecting Blue Sky Pass to the forward base. Cultivators only needed to leave their Imprints in each Universe Array and they could quickly move between the two places.
Of course, this meant that all the soldiers had to first leave their Imprints in the two Universe Arrays in transit to facilitate future use. The easiest way to do this was to have the Eighth-Order Division Commanders leave their Imprints first, then for them to shuttle the weaker cultivators back and forth between the Universe Arrays.
An Eighth-Order Master’s Small Universe was large enough to carry a large amount of Open Heaven Realms Masters; thus, all the soldiers of Blue Sky Pass could quickly leave their marks on the new Universe Arrays.
Still, this was not something that Yang Kai needed to think about as it would be left to the Eighth-Order Masters to handle.
After completing the second Universe Array, Yang Kai returned to Blue Sky Pass.
This could not be helped. When Zhong Liang, who stayed behind at Blue Sky Pass, sent a message for Yang Kai to return, Yang Kai had already departed to set up the Universe Arrays. Thus, the message had not reached him until now.
Yang Kai hastily returned to Blue Sky Pass and reported to Zhong Liang, where he was then told about what had happened.
“Martial Uncle Lu has disappeared?” Yang Kai was extremely surprised.
The Martial Uncle Lu he was referring to was Lu An of Yin-Yang Cave Heaven, an Eighth-Order Open Heaven Realm Master. He was a Western Army Division Commander, and due to their shared background, he had taken care of Yang Kai since he came to Blue Sky Pass.
Although Lu An was old, his cultivation was high; thus, Yang Kai could not understand how he had just ‘disappeared’.
“Come with me,” Zhong Liang did not explain. He just waved for Yang Kai to follow him outside.
Soon the two of them left the gates.
The battlefield from the previous war had been cleaned up, and now the area outside Blue Sky Pass was empty. No one could have imagined from this scene that just two years ago the Black Ink Clan Army had come in full force and engaged Blue Sky Pass in a huge battle.
When he arrived, Yang Kai was immediately drawn to a small crack in the Void in front of him, and after a moment of observation, he could not help but frown.
Zhong Liang explained, “There was a Universe Cave Heaven here, I don’t know if you remember.”
Yang Kai nodded lightly, “I remember.”
All the Universe Cave Heavens and Universe Paradises outside of Blue Sky Pass were personally found and opened by him, and then filled with traps; thus, Yang Kai naturally had some memory of them.
Zhong Liang continued, “Your Martial Uncle Lu was responsible for this Universe Cave Heaven. We do not know who his opponent was, but he was likely quite strong. Their battle was still ongoing when the Expeditionary Force departed, but six months after the Expeditionary Force departed, this Universe Cave Heaven suddenly collapsed and a Void Crack formed. Thereafter, your Martial Uncle Lu and his opponent were nowhere to be seen.”
Yang Kai said with a frown, “Martial Uncle Lu and that Territory Lord must have been caught up in it and dragged into the Void.”
Zhong Liang nodded, “Exactly, that old fart is a stubborn one. Most likely, he was unwilling to let that Territory Lord escape, which is why they ended up in this situation. This Void Crack was quite spacious when it was first formed, so I went inside to investigate, but as you know, the Void is incredibly chaotic and I became disoriented the instant I entered. I could not find any trace of your Martial Uncle Lu, so I have no choice but to withdraw while I still could. After so long, and with the Void Crack here close to healing, I’m afraid that your Martial Uncle Lu might never come back.”
“I’ll go in to find him!” Yang Kai stepped forward.
“Are you sure?” Zhong Liang looked concerned.
Yang Kai grinned and said, “This Junior will be right back!”
Thereafter, he manipulated Space Principles and plunged into the small Void Crack.
In the Void, chaos and void turbulence raged.
Yang Kai silently pushed his Space Principles to swim against the currents, leaving a trail of his aura behind along the way.
At first, everything was calm, but as he swam deeper, disruptions in the turbulence began to appear. Yang Kai examined these traces carefully and realized that they should be remnants of a battle between Masters.
It was obviously the result of the fight between Martial Uncle Lu and a certain Territory Lord.
Zhong Liang had come in before and was confused at the sight, but to Yang Kai, these traces were the best clues to find his targets.
Following the traces, he began to search for them.
This section of Void was extremely dangerous because it had been greatly disturbed, making it even more chaotic than normal, with no semblance of direction or time. In this damned place, one would never know where he was or how much time he had spent there. Perhaps one could spend thousands of years inside the Void, only to emerge and find that but a brief moment had passed in the outside world. Changes within the Void were highly unpredictable.
Only someone like Yang Kai, who was well versed in the Dao of Space, could find some kind of order in this damned place.
Using Space Principles, he made use of his Divine Sense, and was able to monitor his surroundings as he searched.
After an unknown span of time, Yang Kai suddenly felt a disturbance and zoomed off in a certain direction.
In no time, he came to a Void turbulence and sensed a corpse floating and sinking into it.
The corpse was covered with wounds and there was a fatal wound in its head. The expression on its face looked like it was glaring in disbelief before its death.
It was the corpse of a Black Ink Clansman!
Yang Kai was relieved to see that this corpse was the Territory Lord’s who had fought against Lu An. The fact that his corpse was here meant that Lu An had won.
After carefully identifying the Territory Lord’s corpse, Yang Kai recognized that this guy should be one of the top five strongest Territory Lords in the Blue Sky Theatre, on par with Hei Yuan from the Yin-Yang Theatre.
Now, it made sense why Lu An, a senior Eighth-Order Open Heaven Realm Master, could not take him down quickly even with the geographical advantages.
In fact, Lu An did not have to be so determined to kill this Territory Lord. As early as when the plan was being implemented, Zhong Liang and others had explained that if they could not win the fight quickly, then should escape before the Universe Cave Heaven collapsed; otherwise, they would most likely be sucked into the Void.
Many Eighth-Order Division Commanders did this; otherwise, there would not have been so many Territory Lords escaping that day.
Lu An apparently did not heed those orders though. He was willing to die to make sure that the Territory Lord did not escape. As a result, the two were sucked into the Void.
If this corpse was here, then obviously Lu An should not be too far away; however, this whole place was directionless. Thus, if he got caught in one of the turbulent currents, there was no telling where he would drift to.
Yang Kai continued his search, his Divine Sense extended to its limit.
Yang Kai soon sensed a fluctuating life aura in the distance, this fluctuation was very unusual and obviously intentional to point out its location.
Quickly reacting, Yang Kai smiled and flew through the Void like a fish swimming upstream towards the unusual fluctuations.
A short while later, Yang Kai came to an old man who was sitting cross-legged. With a grin, he called out, “Martial Uncle, sorry for the long wait.”
Lu An apparently also knew that Blue Sky Pass would send someone to find him. Naturally, this person had to be Yang Kai; after all, he was the only person who could freely transverse through the turbulent Void.
Lu An had tried to get out of the Void; however, even if he was an Eighth-Order Open Heaven Realm Master, he could not find his way back through the chaotic space. Worse, he was injured after the battle with the Territory Lord and was far from his peak state.
Thus, instead of blindly looking for a way out, he opted to sit and wait; after all, Yang Kai was sure to come and find him. Similarly, his sitting still also helped Yang Kai locate him.
Finding Lu An and returning was not hard for Yang Kai.
When he saw the two of them appear, Zhong Liang, who had been waiting outside, couldn’t help but breathe a sigh of relief. Every Eighth-Order Open Heaven Realm Master was a pillar in the Human Race’s fight against the Black Ink Clan. Furthermore, since the number of Eighth-Order Open Heaven Realm Masters in each Great Pass was not large, each of their deaths greatly impacted the Human Race. Thus, he was gratified to see Lu An was alright.
Still, since Lu An’s injuries were not light, he quickly headed back to rest and recover.
Meanwhile, Yang Kai embarked on a journey to the forward base with the rest of Dawn.
The forward base had been nailed deep within the territory of the Black Ink Clan. In this recent war, Blue Sky Pass had achieved extremely brilliant results. The huge losses of the Black Ink Clan were enough for them to be unable to recover for at least 1,000 years. Furthermore, that timeframe was dependent on their ability to destroy Blue Sky Pass’ new forward base.
If Blue Sky Pass could gain a solid foothold and suppress nearly half of the Black Ink Clan’s territory here, then the Black Ink Clan might not ever be able to recover to its previous strength. However, if the Humans lost the forward base, their victorious outcome would be greatly diminished.
Therefore, the existence of the forward base was critical to both sides. However, they could not just defend their current position. They had to take the initiative or they would eventually be pushed back.
Blue Sky Pass deployed 20,000 soldiers from the previous crusade, but now more than 10,000 more have been deployed to provide support with the help of two transit Universe Arrays Yang Kai had set up.
Currently, in Blue Sky Pass, only the most basic personnel were left behind. The rest had been moved outside. They had been passively defending for so many years, so when they finally had a chance to take the initiative, the decisions those at the top made were all bold and aggressive.
Nonetheless, the movements of troops made sense; after all, there was no need to worry about Blue Sky Pass being attacked. Since they were now deep within the Black Ink Clan’s territory, the enemy would be too preoccupied with those forces close to their Royal City to target Blue Sky Pass itself.
The Black Ink Clan could also not expect reinforcements from other Theatres as each war zone had its own issues to deal with. It was no different for the Humans, who could not send large-scale reinforcements to each other; thus, for both sides, they were basically fighting an independent war.
While Yang Kai was arranging the Universe Arrays, the soldiers at the forward base had been recuperating. After Blue Sky Pass’s 10,000 reinforcements had arrived at the forward base, a slew of construction projects were implemented.
One by one, Squads patrolled around the forward base, clearing out any Black Ink Clansmen in the area. Even the Eighth-Order Open Heaven Realm Masters were moving, trying to use this opportunity to suppress the Black Ink Clan as much as possible.
Naturally, the Black Ink Clan would not sit still and get attacked. Though they did not launch any large-scale battles, they continued with small-scale ambushes. In fact, almost every day, Squads that ventured even a little far from the forward base would be ambushed by the Black Ink Clan.
The Humans and the Black Ink Clan had been fighting for hundreds of thousands of years in the space between Blue Sky Pass and the forward base. It was just that this time, the Humans had the absolute advantage; thus, such ambushes were all but meaningless.
After all, most of the Territory Lords here would not dare to move easily; furthermore, Human Squads had their Warships, which held an absolute advantage when faced against a small number of Black Ink Clansmen. In fact, if a Squad found itself dangerously outnumbered, or facing a powerful, unbeatable foe, the Warships possessed defensive Spirit Arrays which would protect them. In the worst-case scenario, there was still the Universe Array aboard the Purifying Black Ink Battleships anchored at the forward base, which enabled them to escape the battle if necessary.
Thus, as long as they still had some luck, and the situation was not that dire, there was no need for them to fear for their lives.
In the void, a Warship flew back and forth as rays of bright light shot out from its hull. Unable to resist the powerful attack, the Black Ink Clansmen burst into a mist of blood.
Around the Warship, several figures were moving around, eliminating whatever scattered Black Ink Clansmen were present using their own Secret Techniques.
Within a short time, hundreds of Black Ink Clansmen were killed.
Miao Fei Ping flashed and flew back to Dawning Light, looking indifferent, with no joy or surprise in his eyes. With the baptism of blood and war, he quickly matured and was no longer as helpless and nervous as he had been the first time he fought the Black Ink Clan.
Under normal circumstances, a Sixth-Order Open Heaven Realm Master like him would not leave their Warship to kill the enemy directly. He should stay inside the protective Spirit Arrays on the Warship and use its offensive arrays to deal damage.
However, today’s battle was different from the usual. They encountered some scattered Black Ink Clansmen, so there was leeway for the Sixth-Order Masters to gain some direct combat experience.
The Black Ink Clan usually sent out massive armies, with powerful Masters leading them. Thus, even a Sixth-Order Open Heaven Realm Master, who could not be considered weak, would find it difficult to survive in that chaotic battlefield. As a result, those below the Seventh Order were generally tasked with controlling their Warship’s Arrays.
Of the hundreds of Black Ink Clansmen Dawn encountered today though, only one was a Feudal Lord, and he was swiftly killed by Feng Ying. Meanwhile, the rest scattered like sand. A few Sixth-Order Open Heaven Realm Masters couldn’t help but rush out of the Warship to fight, and Yang Kai didn’t stop them.
Such skirmishes could be found everywhere in the void. The soldiers of the forward base also began to refer to this kind of mission as ‘hunting’. Furthermore, these hunts did not only occur with small groups of Black Ink Clansmen. Sometimes, bigger hunts were organized where several Squads would cooperate to deal large amounts of damage to the scattered Black Ink Clansmen. As a result, the Black Ink Clan began to worry that if this kept up, the Human Army would begin advancing towards the Royal City again.
With their situation being what it was, the Black Ink Clan was forced to concentrate the vast majority of its Masters into defending the Royal City. Naturally, that meant that the space between Blue Sky Pass and the forward base had no powerful Black Ink Masters at all.
“Squad Leader, it’s time,” Feng Ying reminded Yang Kai.
Yang Kai nodded, “Let’s head back, we’ve been at it long enough.”
In order to ensure the combat effectiveness of all soldiers, the forward base also established some rules, including time limits on each Squad’s ‘hunt’, and the range of activities that they could operate in.
This was done out of fear that the soldiers would get carried away in killing the enemy, which might reveal openings and cause unnecessary tragedies.
It had been half a year since Dawn last set out from the forward base, and the area they were active in had always been at the outermost reaches allowed by the rules. Naturally, it was because the further out they went, the larger the number of Black Ink Clansmen there were.
Half a year was the time limit stipulated by the forward base before they had to return. Beyond that, Military Merits would not be calculated, and there might even be penalties, such as sending them back to Blue Sky Pass. Naturally, such penalties were meant for the safety of the soldiers.
After all, establishing a fortified position was a long-term plan. It was impossible to achieve this overnight, so it is necessary to ensure the integrity and combat effectiveness of the soldiers at the forward base.
After half a year of battle, they would then rest for the next half a year, maintaining a balance.
At Yang Kai’s command, Dawn’s members began using the Universal Transference Law to return. In the end, Yang Kai was the only one remaining as he stored Dawning Light in his Small Universe. After that, he flickered and disappeared.
Back at the forward base, where the Universe Array was, those from the Dawn appeared, one after another. As soon as they appeared, they skillfully moved out of the way so as not to interfere with the transference of others who were also returning.
“Get some rest and cultivate. After half a year, we will gather again,” Yang Kai gave the order and the crowd immediately dispersed.
He then strolled towards the Merit Hall. Military Merits obtained by hunting for half a year had to be registered, and Dawning Light had also taken some damage, so it needed to be sent to the Refining Hall for repairs.
Yang Kai was traversing this familiar path at this point. It had been ten years since the Expeditionary Force established the forward base, and every time he came back from a hunt, as the leader of Dawn Squad, he needed to fulfil these duties.
Arriving first at the Merit Hall, registration of military contributions was recorded by Fifth-Order Open Heaven Realm Masters. Such positions didn’t involve directly fighting against the Black Ink Clan, so they were usually filled by the cultivators with the lowest Orders.
Registration of Military Merits was naturally very smooth. All Yang Kai needed to do was provide evidence for the kills.
Next, Yang Kai went to the Refining Hall and handed over Dawning Light. After that was done, he didn’t need to worry about his ship anymore. He would just need to get it after half a year, when Dawn went out on its next hunt.
The Refining Hall was now the busiest location in the entire forward base; however, this couldn’t be helped. One by one, Squads would go out, hunt down enemies, and then return with a damaged Warship that needed repairs. Since there was a limited number of Artifact Refiners, the Refining Hall was always kept busy.
In the past, when the Great Pass was under siege by the Black Ink Clan, the Artifact Refiners would be so busy they did not even have the time to breathe, but after the siege ended, they would have time to rest. However, that was in the past. Since the forward base was established, Artifact Refiners were now busy round the clock, with no time for rest at all.
When the forward base created the rules, limiting ‘hunting’ to only half a year and a minimum of half a year of cultivating afterwards, they did not really take into account the Artifact Refiner’s workload.
After all, half a year was barely enough for an Artifact Refiner to fix up a Warship.
Although Yang Kai was now an Artifact Refining Grandmaster, and he could patch up simple problems with Dawning Light, some of the damage was to its Spirit Arrays, and since he knew little about the Dao of Spirit Array, he had no choice but to ask for an Array Master to fix it, which was why he sent it to the Refining Hall.
Just as he was about to walk back to where he stayed, he heard a Divine Sense transmission.
He turned and then moved towards a particular direction.
He quickly entered a Grand Hall, where the Eastern Army Commander, Ding Yao, was talking to an Eighth-Order Open Heaven Realm Master. After briefly exchanging a few words, the Eighth-Order Masters turned and left, while Ding Yao turned to look at Yang Kai.
Yang Kai cupped his fist, “Greetings, Sir!”
Ding Yao gave a light nod and said, “I have a task for you.”
Yang Kai looked solemn as he replied, “Please tell me.”
“I need you to return back to Blue Sky Pass and pick someone up.”
“Pick someone up?” Yang Kai frowned, puzzled and asked “Pick who up?” “
“You don’t have to know. You’ll understand when the time comes.”
Yang Kai was a little displeased with this strange order and couldn’t help but object, “Sir, wouldn’t it be better for an Eighth-Order Division Commander to act as a guard? I’m only in the seventh order, so even if I want to store someone inside my Small Universe, I at most can only bring those in the Sixth Order or below. How would I be of any help in this case?”
Ding Yao glanced at him, “I don’t need you to use your Small Universe to store this person, I just need you to show the way here. What’s more, this person is in the Eighth-Order, so other Eighth-Order Masters would not be able to store them either and would have to travel side by side.”
“Eighth-Order?” Yang Kai was surprised, “Since it’s someone in the Eighth-Order Open Heaven Realm, I believe that person has enough strength to ensure his own safety. Why do I need to fetch them here?”