The Territory Lords couldn’t reach an agreement despite all their fierce arguments. Since the Royal Lord had returned, he would be the one making the decision.
After giving it a thought, the Royal Lord said, “Defend the Royal City at all costs. As long as the Humans don’t attack us, all of you shouldn’t make a move.”
He then turned to look at the Territory Lord who looked like a turtle and declared, “Che Kong, you will be given command of this war. While I am recuperating, you will lead the other Territory Lords to defend the Royal City.”
The Territory Lord named Che Kong slightly bent his back, “Yes, Sir.”
The Royal Lord didn’t bother to warn the other Territory Lords that they would be punished for not obeying Che Kong. Without the Royal Lord’s order, these Territory Lords were all on an equal footing, which left them disunited. However, since the Royal Lord had given the order, they certainly had to obey.
Furthermore, Che Kong, who looked like an old turtle, was among the strongest Territory Lords when it came to his strength and aptitude.
He was a Territory Lord who took part in the assault on the Old Ancestor from Great Evolution Pass and survived 30,000 years ago.
He didn’t just take part in a war that was intended to occupy Great Evolution Pass, he had directly exchanged moves with the Old Ancestor from Great Evolution Pass.
Although he had only traded three moves with that Old Ancestor, the price he had to pay was 800 years of hibernation. The terrifying-looking cut on the tortoise shell on his back still hadn’t healed until now.
That was a wound caused by the Old Ancestor from Great Evolution Pass.
As a Territory Lord, he was a cut above the others in the same realm because he had survived a fight with a Human Old Ancestor; therefore, the other Territory Lords had no objection when the Royal Lord appointed Che Kong to be the Commander.
Che Kong was one of those conservative Territory Lords, and it was largely because of his prestige that the aggressive Territory Lords, who were in the majority, were unable to launch an attack on the Humans.
After the Royal Lord issued his orders, he returned to his Black Ink Nest in the Royal City to recover. Soon, a massive amount of resources were sent to the Black Ink Nest and thrown into the Black Ink Pool to produce Black Ink Strength.
The Royal Lord’s thinking was simple.
Since they had missed the best chance to launch an attack, it was useless to do so at this point. From the looks of it, the Humans didn’t have the intention of invading the Royal City immediately; hence, it would be peaceful for both sides for a period of time despite the inevitable confrontation.
He could seize this chance and recuperate.
Although he had suffered a setback during the battle, he could recover much quicker than the Old Ancestor as he had his Black Ink Nest to support him.
He had learned a piece of important information from the Royal Lord from the Yin-Yang Theatre. The Old Ancestor who had come to this place this time practised a strange cultivation technique that was also rather unique among the Humans. It was because of its uniqueness that it would be difficult for her to recover once she was wounded. She needed the help of something called Bustling World Essence to heal her injuries.
In Yin-Yang Pass, the Old Ancestor had a set-up to help her recuperate, but she didn’t have such convenience in the Great Evolution Theatre.
In other words, as time dragged on, he would recover much quicker than the Old Ancestor. When he fully recovered, it would be easy for him to kill her.
By then, he would make her pay the price for wounding him.
A high-spirited Royal Lord fell into a state of deep sleep as he was engulfed in ample Black Ink Strength.
…
On the deck of Dawning Light, Yang Kai looked in the forward base’s direction.
Certainly, he could clearly see that the Old Ancestor had returned. As he had come into close contact with the Old Ancestor before, he could sense that something was off despite her grandiose return.
[It seems that she is badly injured…]
Just like he had expected, the reason the Old Ancestor requested he join this campaign was that she wanted to make use of his Small Universe to recuperate. Therefore, once the Old Ancestor clashed with the Royal Lord, she would go all out despite knowing that she would be injured. As such, the battle between them wouldn’t last for a long time.
Since the Old Ancestor had returned, Yang Kai supposed that his help would be needed.
At the thought of this, he told Feng Ying to see him, then said, “When I’m not around, all of you have to stay safe should there be a battle.”
Feng Ying asked curiously, “Do you have a new task?”
Yang Kai replied, “Maybe…”
The moment he finished speaking, a ray of light shot up from the forward base and dashed towards them. Upon arrival, the person revealed himself and cupped his fist, “The Army Commander would like to see you, Senior Brother Yang.”
“Understood,” Yang Kai nodded, “I’ll be going now.”
He then followed the person and flew towards the Universe World.
However, they didn’t land on the side that was facing the Royal City. Instead, they circled around the Universe World and came to its other side. It was then the person started descending.
Soon, they arrived at the periphery of a mountain valley, where Yang Kai’s guide said, “Just keep going forward, Senior Brother. The Army Commander is waiting for you over there.”
Yang Kai thanked him and stepped forward.
A while later, he arrived at the entrance of the valley.
Xiang Shan and Liu Zhi Ping were waiting for him.
Yang Kai saluted them and looked into the valley; however, at this moment, it was covered in clouds. The inside of the valley gave off a dangerous feeling. Apparently, it was shrouded in a Grand Array.
“How is the Old Ancestor now?” Yang Kai asked.
Xiang Shan replied, “Go in and see for yourself.”
As Xiang Shan spoke, he tossed something to Yang Kai, “This token can be used to control the Grand Array in this valley. Don’t lose it.”
“Yes,” Yang Kai replied, then activated his power to refine the token.
A moment later, he lifted the token and waved it at the Grand Array in the valley. A beam of light shot into the valley, and as the clouds weltered, a portal that led inside was revealed.
Yang Kai stepped into the portal, which slowly shut behind him.
From the outside, the valley seemed to be filled with clouds; however, the moment Yang Kai stepped inside, he realised that there were no clouds at all. It was just a normal valley.
Due to the fact that the entire Universe World was desolate, this valley was pretty barren as well.
As Yang Kai turned around, he could see Xiang Shan and Liu Zhi Ping standing outside the valley; nevertheless, he reckoned that they couldn’t see him.
Yang Kai felt the Old Ancestor’s aura coming from the centre of the valley, but unlike how imposing it had been when she returned, it was now weak.
He traced the aura and soon saw a petite figure who had curled up on a pile of stones.
The Old Ancestor had turned into a young child, and she looked even younger than the first time Yang Kai met her.
When Yang Kai came across the Old Ancestor in the shopping district of Yin-Yang Pass for the first time, she looked like a kid who was seven or eight years old, but now, she looked like she was just three or four.
Yang Kai felt his face eyes twitching. It was a rare thing to find an Old Ancestor who looked like this.
The colour had drained from her delicate face, and her clothes were soaked in blood. There was also a jade bracelet on her wrist that was full of cracks.
Yang Kai had no idea what kind of artifact the jade bracelet was, but it was obviously not ordinary as it was worn by someone like the Old Ancestor. Presently, the artifact was full of cracks, and most of its spirituality had been lost. It went to show that the previous battle was truly perilous.
[The Old Ancestor must have over-exerted herself…]
Yang Kai secretly sighed. Without alerting her, he activated his power and released his World Force. The illusory phantom of his Small Universe spread across the valley with his figure as the centre.
If a person looked intently, they could see that the illusory phantom of the Small Universe was full of living creatures and complicated terrains. Countless people were seen moving around all over the place.
This was a miniature version of a World.
The entire Small Universe was soon spread across the mountain valley.
Considering the fact that the Old Ancestor was sound asleep, Yang Kai settled her down on a beautiful Spirit Peak after he was done manifesting his Small Universe.
The Spirit Peak wasn’t majestic by any means, but it had ample World Energy, making it a perfect place for quiet recuperation.
As a thought flashed through Yang Kai’s mind, a log house appeared where the Old Ancestor was asleep. It wasn’t anything special, but it was good enough to protect her from the wind and rain.
After he was done with all that, Yang Kai found a place on the Spirit Peak and meditated in silence.
He had no idea how long it would take the Old Ancestor to recover, but it definitely wouldn’t be a short time; therefore, he could seize the chance and cultivate.
Time slowly went by in the Small Universe, but the Old Ancestor didn’t seem to be waking up anytime soon. With that said, as the owner of this Small Universe, Yang Kai could feel that a mysterious force was streaming into the Old Ancestor’s petite figure from all directions.
It was the Bustling World Essence.
Initially, he was worried that by placing the Old Ancestor on such a barren peak, she might not be able to absorb much Bustling World Essence, but now it seemed that wherever she was in his Small Universe, it didn’t really matter.
After giving it a thought, Yang Kai realised that it wasn’t so surprising. The so-called Bustling World Essence was produced from the daily lives of all living creatures; therefore, his entire Small Universe must be filled with it.
Despite the fact that they were in a remote place, there was still Bustling World Essence in the air.
Of course, the Bustling World Essence would be more ample if they were in a busy city.
Initially, Yang Kai thought that his days would remain dull and uneventful until the Old Ancestor regained consciousness; however, one month later, he opened his eyes and looked towards the bottom of the mountain.
There was a village at the bottom of this Spirit Peak where a dozen or so families had settled, making a living by hunting and felling trees. Hunters would go out to look for prey near the Spirit Peak, but Yang Kai would normally just ignore them.
He didn’t intend to interfere in the affairs of his Small Universe. Although he was the ruler of this World, any rash interference might bring about detrimental outcomes as the World had its own way of operating.
Most of the hunters would only do some hunting below the middle of the mountain, and there was a lot of prey around, so they didn’t have to worry about bringing food to the table.
However, there was one hunter who seemed to be unlucky this time as he hadn’t found anything to catch. Therefore, he decided to go further up the mountain.
Yang Kai observed the route the hunter took and realised that if he did nothing, the person would soon arrive at the log house where the Old Ancestor was recuperating.
When that happened, the hunter would definitely investigate.
Certainly, Yang Kai wouldn’t allow anyone to disturb the Old Ancestor, but just when he was ready to do something to conceal the log house, the unconscious Old Ancestor suddenly sent him a message.
The message was so vague and garbled that he couldn’t even figure out its meaning. Apparently, the Old Ancestor was not clear-headed when she sent the message and simply did so out of instinct.
With a frown, Yang Kai hesitated for a bit before deciding to take a wait-and-see approach.
Half a day later, the hunter, who hadn’t found any prey, was both exhausted and hungry. He scooped up some water from a spring with his hands to quench his thirst, but while he was drinking it, he became startled all of a sudden.
That was because he could see a simple-looking log house in front of him.
He didn’t remember there being a log house on the mountain. Although this place was far away from his usual hunting area, he had been here before, and he was certain he had never seen this log house in the past.
Out of curiosity, he shuffled towards the log house and shouted, “Is anyone inside?”
No one responded to him after he shouted several times. Left with no choice, he apologised and pushed the door open before stepping inside.
Yang Kai had built the log house in a hurry to put a roof over the Old Ancestor’s head, so there was nothing inside other than a bed, which the Old Ancestor’s petite figure was currently curled up on.
The instant the hunter entered the house, he saw the figure on the bed and was both doubtful and wary.
Although he was an ordinary mortal who had never cultivated before, cultivation wasn’t a secret on the Void Continent and the hunter knew that the youngsters in the neighbouring village had always wanted to join a nearby Sect.
The hunter also had such a dream when he was younger. 1,000 kilometres away from the village, there was a Sect named Water Moon Pavilion that would recruit new disciples every few years.
When the hunter was younger, he travelled all the way to Water Moon Pavilion with that dream in mind and participated in the Disciple Recruitment in the hope that he could join the Sect and become a mighty expert who could fly through the sky one day. Unfortunately, his aptitude was poor, so the senior experts were not interested in taking him in as a disciple. He was swiftly eliminated from the Disciple Recruitment.
After his dream was crushed, the hunter wandered around the continent for several years and eventually, he returned to his hometown and built a family of his own.
Compared to the other hunters in the village, he was more experienced as he knew that other than cultivators, there were also some special beings in this world.
Spirits!
It was said that when some Spirits had cultivated long enough, they could assume Human forms. Ordinary people couldn’t tell the difference, but apparently there was a class of Evil Spirits known as Vixens. Rumour had it that Vixens loved turning into beautiful young ladies to seduce energetic young men.
Therefore, the moment the hunter saw that there was a strange-looking log house with a young girl inside, the first thought that flashed through his mind was that he might have run into a Spirit.
He felt a crawling sensation on his scalp as it was said that there were good and bad Spirits; however, he couldn’t differentiate the good Spirits from the bad ones.
Upon closer look though, he realised that the petite figure on the bed was quite pitiful-looking. Even if she was really a Spirit, she was a frail one.
Why would he be afraid of her when he was a fully grown man?
With that thought in mind, he stopped feeling anxious.
He initially wanted to leave the house in silence; after all, he wasn’t sure if the petite figure was a Spirit, but just when he was preparing to step out of the log house, he froze for a moment.
That was because he could hear that there was something off about the petite figure’s breathing.
As an experienced hunter, he understood the prey on the mountain fully well. When animals were wounded and dying, they would breathe just like the young girl, intermittently and weakly.
There was a tinge of hesitation on the hunter’s face.
A moment later, he grit his teeth and shuffled towards the bed.
[What if she’s an ordinary child and not a Spirit? If no one takes care of her, she’ll soon be eaten by the beasts.]
As he looked down, he realised that the child on the bed was only three or four years old. Although she was sound asleep, there was a hint of discomfort on her face, as though she was having a nightmare. Moreover, her face was unusually pale.
He placed his palm on her forehead and discovered that it was scorching.
[She’s sick!]
Without hesitation, the hunter picked up the little girl and dashed out of the house. He had to return to his home as soon as possible.
Regardless of where this little girl came from or why she was alone in the log house, she would soon lose her life if she was not treated.
The hunter’s thoughts were simple. He had to go down the mountain and look for a doctor. The idea of dealing with her parents if they ever looked for her never crossed his mind. When that happened, he would just give the child back to them and explain what had happened.
After the hunter left in a hurry, Yang Kai, who had been observing them in silence, revealed himself. As he watched the hunter leave, he stroked his chin and fell into his thoughts.
[The Old Ancestor was abducted… What should I do?]
He could have concealed the log house’s existence; that way, an ordinary mortal who had never cultivated before would never have discovered the Old Ancestor’s whereabouts. However, at the most critical moment, the Old Ancestor sent him a message.
He was unable to figure out the Old Ancestor’s intentions; the message was vague and garbled, so he was unable to ascertain what it meant. It also didn’t look like the Old Ancestor had intentionally done it; instead, it was like she acted out of instinct while still asleep.
Although the Old Ancestor’s message wasn’t clear, it was apparent she wanted to stop him from concealing the log house by sending it to him at that moment.
Therefore, Yang Kai decided to let nature take its course.
Then, the Old Ancestor was taken away. Since she didn’t send Yang Kai any further messages, it seemed that he had made the right choice.
With that said, he couldn’t just ignore her; hence, he concealed his figure and tailed the hunter.
It took the hunter half a day to go up the mountain, but it only took him two hours to go down. The exhausted and starving hunter tripped over and became covered in dust, but he protected the little girl well.
After returning to the small village, he kicked the door of his house open and shouted, “Dear, something has happened!”
Upon hearing his voice, a stout woman came out of the kitchen. An apron was wrapped around her waist, and there was a huge rolling pin in her hand. It seemed that she was preparing dinner.
As the sky was turning dark, most people would supposedly have their dinner soon.
The stout woman was in stark contrast with the lean hunter. As they stood side by side, the stout woman was two times larger than her Husband.
Villagers were usually straightforward people, so the moment she heard what her Husband said, she roared, “What’s wrong? Did that guy snatch your prey again? Don’t worry, I’ll beat him up for you!”
“No, no, no!” The hunter repeatedly shook his head, “I picked up this little thing.”
Saying so, he dashed into the house.
The moment he brushed past the stout woman, she caught a glimpse of what was in his arms. At that instant, she was rooted to the spot.
After her Husband entered the house, she exclaimed and followed him in a hurry.
A moment later, the Old Ancestor was lying on a simple-looking bed in silence. There were some animal pelts on her figure and beside the bed, the hunter and the stout woman stared fixedly at her with widened eyes. As the stout woman gazed at the petite and frail child on the bed, the ferocity on her face vanished.
“Where did you pick her up?” The stout woman poked her Husband with her elbow, accidentally exerting too much force with her arm and almost causing him to fall over.
“On the mountain!” The hunter briefly explained to her what had happened on this day.
The stout woman’s expression changed slightly, “Why would there be such a thing on the mountain? Could she be a Spirit?”
They had been a married couple for quite some time, so sometimes, before they fell asleep at night, the hunter would tell her stories, including ones about Spirits.
“I don’t think so.” The hunter lifted the pieces of animal skin, “Look, she doesn’t have a tail.”
He then brushed back the little girl’s hair, “There are no strange-looking ears either. I don’t think she’s a Spirit.”
The stout woman nodded in agreement. Since the little girl didn’t have a tail or some strange-looking horns or ears, she shouldn’t be a Spirit.
The hunter then said, “The clothes she’s wearing suggest that she’s from a wealthy family; moreover, she has been unconscious since I discovered her. I guess that she suffers from some kind of incurable disease, so her family members dumped her on the mountain.”
Tears started streaming out of the stout woman’s eyes, “She’s such a pitiful little thing… How could her parents have the heart to abandon this beautiful baby?”
“Dear, please get Doctor Cai to come over now and examine this child. It’s a life, after all. Since we’ve found her, we can’t possibly watch her die without doing anything.”
“You’re right,” the stout woman wiped her tears away as she put down the rolling pin and took off her apron. Then, she turned around and left the house.
There wasn’t a doctor in the village, but there was a doctor surnamed Cai in a village that was about 20 kilometres away. Although he wasn’t really an expert in medicine, he was already the best doctor in this area.
The sky had turned completely dark when the stout woman stepped out of the house, and since the two villages were so far apart, Doctor Cai certainly wasn’t willing to go over.
However, the stout woman never gave him a chance to resist. She picked up the thin doctor with one hand and dashed across the 20-kilometre gap to return home. It only took her an hour to go back and forth between the villages.
After the doctor was ‘invited’ into their house, the couple repeatedly apologised to him in order to appease him so that he could examine the little girl.
The couple anxiously watched them on the side.
After Doctor Cai was done feeling her pulse, the stout woman asked nervously, “What sickness does she have, Doctor Cai?”
Although Doctor Cai wasn’t an expert in medicine, he had gained some experience and had sharp eyesight after practising medicine for years, so he replied doubtfully, “She doesn’t seem to be sick.”
The stout woman rolled her eyes, “What are you talking about, Doctor? Look how pale her face is! How could you tell me she’s not sick?”
Doctor Cai waved his hand, “I’ve felt her pulse and checked her breathing, so I don’t think she’s sick. In fact, she’s not just healthy; she’s more vigorous than most kids. However, it’s apparent that there’s something wrong with her. This Old Master has no idea what’s going on.”
He sighed, “Perhaps I’m just not skilful enough. I’m sorry that I’m unable to treat her.”
Upon finishing his words, he got up and ready to leave.
The stout woman got in his way and put on a fawning smile, “Doctor Cai, you’re the only doctor around this area. If you don’t treat her, she’ll die!”
A helpless Doctor Cai replied, “How do I treat her when I don’t even know what’s wrong with her?”
The stout woman insisted, saying, “Regardless, just do whatever you can to help her. I’m sure the medicine you prescribe will be useful.”
The hunter nodded repeatedly on the side.
Doctor Cai shook his head, “Medicine is not food. How can I prescribe medicine for her when I don’t even know why she’s sick? If she consumes the wrong medicine, she’ll fall ill even though she’s healthy now.”
The stout woman begged him to treat the little girl, but Doctor Cai firmly turned her down.
With her patience running out, the stout woman picked up the rolling pin from the side and demanded, “Doctor Cai, I’ve never received any formal education, so I might be a little rude when I speak, and I’m sorry if I’ve offended you in any way. However, she’s still a child. Will you please be kind enough to lend her a hand?”
Doctor Cai felt his brow twitching as he looked at the rolling pin that was thicker than his thigh.
In the end, Doctor Cai left behind a prescription slip. Faced with the threat, he didn’t think he could reason with the stout woman, who was holding a rolling pin.
With that said, he wouldn’t dare to prescribe any strong medicine. The herbs on the slip could be easily found on the mountain and were simply meant to nurture one’s Blood Essence. There wouldn’t be a problem even if the young girl really consumed them.
The hunter personally sent Doctor Cai back to the village, then returned to his home in a hurry.
It was the middle of the night, but the stout woman was still seated by the bed as she looked lovingly at the little girl. The hunter felt moved at the sight.
It had been over 20 years since they got married, so he was fully aware of his Wife’s temperament. He had never seen her behaving so gently before.
He hadn’t had any food for the entire day, and he was exhausted from all the travelling; hence, he was both knackered and starving, so he said to his Wife, “Let’s have dinner. I’ll get some rest after the meal, and look for those herbs in the morning.”
The stout woman grunted in agreement and picked up the rolling pin before shuffling towards the kitchen.
At the break of dawn, the hunter left the house to do some hunting and looked for the herbs on the prescription.
He made a living by hunting on the mountain, so he was also familiar with the herbs in this area; as such, it wasn’t hard for him to carry out both tasks, though it did require some experience and luck.
The hunter returned before dusk. He was lucky this time as he had captured a roe deer and found some herbs. He passed everything to his Wife so that she could prepare dinner and feed the little girl.
It was a small village with only more than a dozen families living here; hence, everyone soon found out that the hunter had picked up a little girl from the mountain and would come over and take a look at her from time to time. Although the villagers had never received any formal education, they were all kind-hearted people; hence, no one would gossip about this child who came out of nowhere. They just felt sorry that she had to go through so much pain at such a young age.
The neighbours were kind enough to lend them a hand. Whenever the other hunters went up the mountain, they would always bring back some herbs and pass them to the stout woman.
The hunter also returned to the log house several times in an attempt to search for her family members, but his efforts were in vain.
Three months passed just like that. Although they fed her with herbal soup and broth every day, the child that the hunter had brought back remained unconscious.
With that said, the couple was relieved that the little girl now looked healthier than before. Her face was no longer horrifyingly pale as some colour had been restored to it.
That made them feel increasingly hopeful.
Four months had passed since the hunter picked up the girl, and one morning, the stout woman was preparing some broth as usual. She then brought it into the room to feed the little girl with it.
Meanwhile, the hunter was sharpening his arrowheads in the yard.
All of a sudden, the stout woman was heard exclaiming from the room, “Darling!”
Shocked, the hunter promptly put down the arrow and dashed into the room before asking anxiously, “What’s wrong?”
In a dazed state, the stout woman pointed at the bed.
The hunter looked in that direction and became astonished as well.
That was because the little girl, who had been lying on the bed for four months, had sat up at this moment. She stared at them with a pair of eyes that were filled with puzzlement.
“She’s regained consciousness!” The stout woman spoke in a shaking voice. With the bowl of broth in one hand, she grabbed her Husband’s arm with her other hand using all her strength as she was worried that she was dreaming.
The hunter felt dizzy as he was swayed by his Wife and called out, “Calm down, you’re frightening her!”
The stout woman came to her senses and put on a harmless-looking smile. With the bowl of broth in her hand, she took a seat by the bed and said gently, “You’re finally awake. When did you wake up? How are you feeling?”
The little girl seated on the bed didn’t seem to hear her, nor did she respond to her. She just stared fixedly at the bowl of broth in her hand.
Even after asking a few more questions, the stout woman still didn’t get any responses.
As she darted her gaze between the kid and the bowl of broth in her hand, she asked, “Are you hungry?”
Saying so, she leaned close to her as she wrapped one arm around the little girl’s neck and held out the bowl for her with the other hand.
In just 10 breaths of time, the little girl chugged down the entire bowl of broth.
The hunter was elated on the side, “Since she can eat, it means that she’s alright. Go get her another bowl of broth.”
When the little girl was done having the second bowl of broth, she licked her lips as though she was craving more. She looked pitifully at the stout woman.
Despite feeling sorry for her, the stout woman still shook her head, “You can’t drink so much broth since you just woke up. I’ll let you eat anything you want when you recover.”
She then put down the bowl and asked gently, “What’s your name? Where’s your home?”
The little girl appeared perplexed.
After asking several questions, the stout woman still didn’t get any replies.
She turned to look at her Husband and asked worriedly, “Darling, do you think she might be a mute?”
The hunter replied, “Perhaps she’s just too young to understand what you’re saying. Regardless, she’s awake now. It seems that Doctor Cai’s prescription is useful.”
“We’ll have to thank him, then.”
The hunter nodded, “That’s for sure. Since the herbs are useful, I’ll get more from the mountain now.”
He then went up the mountain while the stout woman told the little girl to stay in the house while she put together a gift. Although the gift wasn’t valuable, it could show her sincerity. She then headed to Doctor Cai’s house, which was 20 kilometres away.
After the couple was gone, the little girl remained seated on the bed in silence. She looked up at the ceiling with her eyes, but no one knew what was on her mind.
Yang Kai abruptly appeared beside the bed and looked down at her.
A moment later, the little girl on the bed realised that something was off and she turned her head and met Yang Kai’s eyes.
Instead of being shocked though, she was just curious about why there was a stranger standing beside her bed.
“What are you doing, Old Ancestor?” Yang Kai asked curiously.
He had been secretly observing the Old Ancestor for the past four months, and during this period, he found something that he couldn’t understand.
After the great battle with the Royal Lord, the Old Ancestor became severely wounded and fell into a coma for four months; however, as Yang Kai observed the Old Ancestor, he realised that there was something amiss with her condition.
Nevertheless, he couldn’t spell out what was wrong.
Faced with his question, the Old Ancestor remained silent. She grew increasingly curious about this stranger as she gazed at him with a pair of clear-looking eyes.
After staring at each other for a moment, Yang Kai sighed, “Please stop making trouble, Old Ancestor.”
The Old Ancestor remained silent. She didn’t even seem to have the intention of parting her lips.
This prompted Yang Kai to frown.
The Old Ancestor didn’t seem to be messing with him; instead, she looked both curious and puzzled, as though she really couldn’t recognise him.
Yang Kai felt his heart clench up tight. Could the Old Ancestor be more severely wounded than he thought and had lost her memory?
However, he soon dismissed the speculation. As a Ninth-Order Open Heaven Realm Master, she was one of the most powerful cultivators alive. Regardless of how badly injured she was, she couldn’t possibly lose her memory over some simply physical trauma.
Therefore, he reckoned that the Old Ancestor was either pulling his leg or had used some kind of special technique to seal her memory.
Usually, regardless of how horribly injured the Old Ancestor was, her memory wouldn’t be affected after she turned into a kid; only her temperament would change as she would become somewhat childish.
Nevertheless, if she had sealed off her memory, it was only natural that she couldn’t recognise him.
After giving it a thought, Yang Kai reckoned that he couldn’t make a judgement now. Since it would still take the Old Ancestor a long time to recuperate, he could just keep observing her.
Faced with such an Old Ancestor, Yang Kai wasn’t even sure how to communicate with her and could only briefly examine her injuries.
Even with his Seventh-Order Open Heaven Realm cultivation, Yang Kai was unable to detect any injuries on the Old Ancestor’s figure. Upon examination, he realised that the Old Ancestor was completely fine; it was just that she was weaker than the other kids of the same age.
As the stout woman was about to return, Yang Kai could only bid her farewell for now, “I’ll have a talk with you again sometime in the future. Get some rest for now.”
Upon finishing his words, Yang Kai disappeared from the spot.
When the stout woman returned from Doctor Cai’s house and stepped into her home, she saw the little girl wandering around, as though the latter was looking for something. Flabbergasted, she hurriedly picked up the little girl and put her down on the bed before telling her again that she shouldn’t move around as she pleased when no one else was at home.
…..
When Yang Kai retracted his gaze from the Old Ancestor, what was happening in the outside world caught his attention.
Seated on the rooftop of the hunter’s house, he looked up into the void, past the World Barrier of his Small Universe.
Some rays of light seemed to be rapidly approaching from the depths of the void.
There were only three rays of light, but they were travelling in a straight line as they moved forward at great speed.
The sight made Yang Kai feel doubtful, as these rays of light didn’t seem like they belonged to the Open Heaven Realm Masters. Instead, they looked like lights that radiated from Spirit Arrays.
But what kind of Spirit Arrays could move so quickly?
Curious, he activated the Demon Eye of Annihilation and observed more closely.
What came into his sight astounded Yang Kai.
The three dots of light that rushed forward in a line were indeed lights that radiated from Spirit Arrays; Spirit Arrays that had been set up on three round Universe Worlds.
These Universe Worlds must have been carefully selected as they were neither small nor big. They were respectively one-tenth of the size of the Universe World used as a forward base by the East-West Army.
Various arrays had been arranged on these Universe Worlds, and with those arrays in operation, these Universe Worlds flew over rapidly from the depths of the Void and were still accelerating.
Yang Kai had no idea where they were coming from, but it was apparent that they had crossed a long distance.
They were already moving at the speed of lightning when they came into Yang Kai’s sight. Moreover, each Universe World exuded a dangerous aura. It was obvious that the arrays on the Universe Worlds did not just propel them forward, but they also served other important purposes.
After examining the Universe Worlds for a time, Yang Kai figured out what those arrays were for.
His face twitched upon that realisation. Needless to say, it was another plan that Xiang Shan had come up with to deal with the Black Ink Clan; however, this plan was rather devious and he wondered if the Black Ink Clansmen could bear it.
Additionally, Yang Kai also discovered something that piqued his interest, which was the differences between the sizes of these Universe Worlds.
The Royal City was located on a Universe World, and the forward base set up by the Humans was also built on a Universe World. However, the latter was moved to this place by the Humans using a special technique.
Comparing the two, the Universe World the forward base sat on was much larger than the one the Royal City was located at, about three times larger in fact.
Initially, Yang Kai didn’t understand why the Army Commanders had selected such an enormous Universe World when it was only meant to be a temporary forward base. It seemed like a huge waste of resources at the time.
After all, the larger the Universe World was, the more resources would be needed to set up Spirit Arrays to fortify it. They should’ve selected a suitable and less resource-consuming Universe World. There were only 30,000 Human soldiers, so a much smaller Universe World could easily accommodate them.
Although Yang Kai was doubtful at that time, he didn’t ponder on it as it was just a thought that flashed through his mind.
However, the moment he saw the rays of light approaching from the depths of the void, he realised the reason behind it.
The forward base where the Humans were located was enormous and just half a day’s flight from the Royal City. This forward base was not just a nail at the Black Ink Clan’s doorstep, but it also served as a screen, an obstacle that could obstruct the Black Ink Clan’s sight.
Presently, Yang Kai was at the back of the forward base, so he could clearly see the rays of light coming from the void; however, on the other side, the Black Ink Clansmen in the Royal City would be unable to see what was going on.
This gave the Humans more room to manoeuvre.
It seemed that by the time the Army Commanders had chosen to set up a forward base, they had come up with a series of follow-up plans; otherwise, they wouldn’t have moved such a massive Universe World to this place.
The Black Ink Clan soldiers were in a rigid formation in front of the Royal City.
Since Che Kong was told to take command, it had only taken him a month to reorganize the entire Army.
Presently, there were a million Black Ink Clan soldiers surrounding the Royal City tightly. Regardless of how the Humans launched an attack, they could immediately deal with the enemies.
Che Kong had no idea how he should take the initiative to attack the Humans, but it wouldn’t be hard for him to defend the Royal City with this setup. Defence had always been his forte.
As the Commander of a million Black Ink Clansmen, Che Kong was located in the middle of the Army so that he could easily react to any potential threats from the Humans.
After a month of silence, Che Kong all of a sudden felt his chest tightening as an ominous feeling washed over him.
This caused him to feel alerted as he lifted his gaze to look at the Humans’ side. There were a lot of Warships moving around the forward base, but he had no idea what the Humans were up to.
However, it didn’t seem like the Humans had the intention of attacking the Royal City at that moment.
This made Che Kong feel doubtful. Since the Humans didn’t intend to attack, why did he feel a sense of unease all of a sudden?
Could it be a false alarm?
He sincerely hoped that it was just his nerves. Before the Royal Lord started recuperating in the Black Ink Nest, he appointed Che Kong to be the Commander of the Black Ink Clan soldiers and entrusted him to protect the Royal City. Certainly, Che Kong could not disappoint the Royal Lord.
While he was lost in his thoughts, a dazzling light suddenly radiated from the back of the Human’s encampment.
The unease Che Kong felt intensified at that moment.
The next instant, the light flashed into his sight. It was so dazzling that he couldn’t help but narrow his eyes.
Initially, he couldn’t make out what the light was, but as the distance shortened, he quickly realised its true nature.
Che Kong, who had been seated at the time, leapt to his feet with widened eyes. The next moment, his roar reverberated across the entire void, “Enemy attack!”
Over the past month that he had been leading the Black Ink Army, Che Kong had repeatedly pondered on what kind of strategy the Humans would use to assault the Royal City. He had also put himself in the shoes of the leaders from the Humans’ side and inferred how the war would unfold.
He came to the conclusion that, regardless of what devious plans the Humans had come up with, they wouldn’t achieve their goal as long as he steadfastly protected the Royal City.
There was no doubt that he was pleased with the expected outcome.
However, it wasn’t until the Humans finally revealed their move that Che Kong realized he had underestimated how cunning his enemy truly was.
It never crossed his mind that the Humans would attack them using a Universe World.
The Universe World was full of arrays, which were obviously arranged by the Humans. After shooting past the forward base, the Universe World came straight at the Royal City.
Che Kong had no idea where this Universe World came from, but it had obviously moved across a long distance in the void as it was moving at incredible speed.
By the time Che Kong alerted the other Black Ink Clansmen, the ray of light was only a million kilometres away from the Royal City.
If they did nothing, the Universe World would smash into the Royal City in 10 breaths of time.
The consequences would be dreadful.
The location of the Royal City was also a Universe World, and although it was gigantic, it didn’t have any powerful defences. It wasn’t comparable to Great Evolution Pass in this respect.
Great Evolution Pass was an enormous Mobile Palace Artifact, so even without any active arrays, it was still significantly sturdier than a mere Universe World. Moreover, be it the Humans or the Black Ink Clan who controlled Great Evolution Pass, there were various arrays in Inner Sanctum that could enhance its defences.
The approaching Universe World that was full of Spirit Arrays appeared to only be a third the size of the Universe World the Royal City was situated upon, but if it really crashed into the Royal City, everything would be smashed to pieces.
By then, not only would the Royal Lord be disrupted from his recuperation, but the High-Rank Black Ink Nest would also be destroyed upon impact.
If that happened, the Royal Lord would never let Che Kong off.
If they had detected the Universe World that was coming at the Royal City earlier, they could have easily warded it off given the forces available to them.
However, Che Kong was caught off guard as the despicable Humans obstructed their line of sight using their forward base.
By the time he discovered the strange attack, Che Kong was only left with 10 breaths of time to react.
He had no time to mobilise his soldiers, so he personally charged towards the Universe World.
At the same time, over 30 Territory Lords took action along with him.
All of the Territory Lords knew that they had to do their best to fend off this Universe World attack, for the slightest impact on the Royal City would surely disturb the Royal Lord’s recuperation.
Black Ink Clansmen recuperated by falling into a state of deep sleep. It was the same for the Royal Lord as it was for everyone else. Once they were disturbed though, their recuperation would be disturbed, resulting in backlash that could undo their recovery progress or possibly even make their condition worse.
The Royal Lord was the most powerful Master they had to rely on, so they naturally wouldn’t allow anything to disturb him.
All the Territory Lords shot into the sky. The sight was magnificent as their auras were menacing.
Meanwhile, countless Feudal Lords followed closely behind them.
On a barren mountain in the forward base, Xiang Shan, Liu Zhi Ping, and other Eighth-Order Division Commanders looked on intently and saw that the Black Ink Clansmen from the Royal City were charging forward like the moths to a flame.
Before they even arrived, they had started sending out violent attacks at the Universe World that was coming at the Royal City.
One Eighth-Order Division Commander asked, “Do you think they can ward it off?”
Honestly speaking, it wouldn’t require an Eighth-Order Open Heaven Realm Master to make a move to destroy a Universe World. A Sixth-Order or even a Fifth-Order Open Heaven Realm Master, given enough time, could destroy a Universe World; after all, an Open Heaven Realm Master had broken free from the restraints of the Inner Universe. The power they could draw from their Small Universe was World Force; hence, it wasn’t difficult for them to shatter a Universe World.
Naturally, the Black Ink Clansmen of similar strength could achieve the same results.
However, the Black Ink Clan was not dealing with an ordinary Universe World at this moment. It was a Universe World protected by various arrays that the Array Masters had spent a month and massive amounts of resources to arrange.
Therefore, it was no longer an ordinary Universe World; it was the greatest siege weapon to destroy a city with.
“We’ll see,” Xiang Shan replied impassively.
He was just giving it a try to ascertain how effective this tactic was to achieve their objective; therefore, the East-West Army had not prepared to launch an attack at this moment. As such, the Division Commanders could just watch what was going on and have a casual chat among themselves.
They could see that the Black Ink Clan had fully utilised all their powers, as all sorts of dark, ominous techniques smashed against the Universe World, which caused it to flicker and start breaking apart.
There was no doubting the destructive force of several dozen Territory Lords making a move together.
Therefore, even though the Universe World was equipped with all sorts of defensive arrays, it couldn’t possibly withstand the violent attacks from so many Territory Lords.
Before the Feudal Lords could even make a move, the Universe World had turned dim. The next instant, it exploded into countless fragments that scattered around.
The Territory Lords couldn’t help but breathe a sigh of relief while at the same time, they were infuriated.
It seemed they had been frightened over nothing as it was just a Universe World, after all. Even though it was equipped with various arrays, it couldn’t possibly pose a threat to them.
However, all the Territory Lords had come forward to fend it off. If the Humans launched an attack on the Royal City at that moment, they wouldn’t be able to protect the city.
While such thoughts were crossing their minds though, another ray of light appeared behind the shattered Universe World.
“There’s more!” Che Kong roared.
This time, the Territory Lords did not become flustered. With the earlier experience, they knew how to deal with this situation now.
Furthermore, with more Feudal Lords joining them, it became easier to destroy the approaching Universe World.
Several breaths of time later, the second Universe World became shattered and broke into countless pieces.
The next instant, the third Universe World was seen coming at them.
The Territory Lords secretly cursed at the leaders of the Human Race. The series of despicable moves was quite annoying.
With dozens of Territory Lords and innumerable Feudal Lords working together, they cast an attack together and destroyed the third Universe World when it was still millions of kilometres away from the Royal City.
However, the Territory Lords didn’t lower their guard down. They stared fixedly at the depths of the void, as they were worried that there would be a fourth Universe World.
Soon, they were relieved that there wasn’t a fourth Universe World. It seemed that the Humans had only gotten three Universe Worlds prepared.
Upon making sure that all the Universe Worlds had been intercepted, and that the Royal City was not impacted at all, Che Kong led the Territory Lords and Feudal Lords back.
Instead of feeling elated though, Che Kong only felt increasingly worried.
Although they had successfully fended off the three Universe Worlds that the Humans had launched at them this time, what if there were four, five, or even more Universe Worlds?
There would come a time when they were unable to stop the Universe Worlds, and when that happened, a large number of the Black Ink Clansmen would lose their lives, and the Royal Lord’s recovery would be interrupted.
It was apparent that the Humans were just testing the waters this time, and the next attack would be the real show. Che Kong believed that after the test this time, the Human leaders would continue to use such a tactic.
[Damn it!] Che Kong thought. Faced with such a despicable tactic, the Black Ink Clan had no other choice but to directly deal with it.
They couldn’t even imitate it as they didn’t have so many skilful Array Masters on their side.
Since Yang Kai had cultivated the Dao of Time and learnt a few things from his Third Disciple, time flowed four times faster in his Small Universe than the outside; therefore, even though the Old Ancestor had been recuperating in his Small Universe for four months, only one month had passed in the outside world.
In just one month, the East-West Army was able to carry out such a plan. Yang Kai couldn’t help but admire Xiang Shan and the others’ far-sightedness.
After the three Universe Worlds circled around the forward base, Yang Kai was unable to see what happened next as his sight was obstructed. With that said, even though he was in a desolate valley on the opposite side of a Universe World, he could still feel the violent energy fluctuations coming from the Royal City.
He reckoned that the expressions on the Territory Lords’ faces would be interesting when they saw the Universe Worlds, which were equipped with various arrays, coming at the Royal City; however, he didn’t think it would be difficult for the Black Ink Clan to fend off these Universe Worlds. After all, there were some 30-plus Territory Lords, not to mention that they had many Eighth-Order Black Ink Disciples with them.
It was unlikely that the Universe Worlds could harm them.
That was indeed the case. The energy fluctuations coming from the Royal City only lasted for about 10 breaths of time before they vanished.
Again, days went by peacefully.
From the looks of it, the Human soldiers didn’t seem to have the intention of invading the Royal City at all. Meanwhile, inside the Small Universe, the Old Ancestor was still recuperating in the hunter’s home.
The couple treated her very well. Although they were not related by blood, they took care of her as though they were her biological parents. Half of the food brought back by the hunter from the mountain found its way into the Old Ancestor’s stomach.
Certainly, the couple was surprised at the fact that the little girl they picked up from the mountain had such a big appetite despite being so petite; moreover, she seemed to truly love eating.
The only thing that concerned the couple was that the little girl hadn’t grown much in size despite her big appetite.
She looked like she was three to four years old when they picked her up back then. Four years had passed, but she hadn’t changed one bit.
This was unusual, for kids normally grew very quickly at such a young age. Four years was long enough for a toddler to become a child that could freely run around; however, that wasn’t the case for Xiao Xiao.
Yes, after raising the little girl they picked up from the mountain for four years, the couple had given her a name. She was named Xiao Xiao because she would smile brightly whenever there was delicious food for her.
Considering the fact that Xiao Xiao was abandoned by her family back then because she was critically ill, the couple believed that her illness was the reason she hadn’t grown much. In the past, Doctor Cai had left behind a prescription slip. Using the herbs on the list, the couple spent the next four months pulling Xiao Xiao back from death’s door. Although her life was saved, she must have been left with a hidden ailment that resulted in her sluggish growth.
With that said, they were gratified that Xiao Xiao wasn’t mute, unlike what they initially thought. Furthermore, she was an intelligent child who was good at speaking and singing.
Additionally, she also seemed to be gifted when it came to hunting.
She was only four years old when they picked her up, and she was eight years old now.
What could an eight-year-old child do? The hunter had no idea what other eight-year-old kids were like, but Xiao Xiao could already follow him to the mountain and hunt every day.
He had even crafted a small bow for her. Over the past six months, Xiao Xiao was able to bring back a lot of prey. There was even once when the hunter killed an 800-kilogram wild boar with her help.
The wild boar was large enough for all the villagers to enjoy for half a month.
All the villagers treated Xiao Xiao well. Knowing that she loved food, the villagers would frequently send her delicious dishes so that she could satisfy her craving.
One day, the stout woman was busy doing household chores in the afternoon when she heard some noises outside the house. After opening the door, she saw that her Husband and Xiao Xiao had returned.
That surprised her because it was only in the middle of the afternoon. Usually, her Husband wouldn’t come home so soon.
What bothered her was that there was a hint of worry on her Husband’s face.
Although she wasn’t a typical sensitive woman as she was rather straightforward, she was good at observing her Husband’s expressions. After all, they had been married for many years.
“What’s wrong?” She asked.
The hunter shook his head and remained silent. Gazing at Xiao Xiao, he said, “Go out and play.”
After a grunt, Xiao Xiao put down her bow and quiver, “I’ll look for Sir, then.”
Then, she turned around and left the house in a hurry.
Worried, the stout woman shouted from behind, “Take it slow! Don’t trip!”
Despite knowing that the little girl could easily move around on the mountain along with the hunter, the stout woman was still worried that she would trip over if she ran too fast.
As for the ‘Sir’ Xiao Xiao had mentioned, he was a scholar who happened to arrive at this place four years ago. The scholar seemed to have fallen in love with the environment here, so he decided to settle down. Several years had passed since then. Perhaps he had decided to stay here forever.
Though the scholar didn’t have other skills, he was a well-read person. They happened to need a teacher in the village, so the scholar decided to help the children learn how to read and write upon the hunters’ request. In return, they would give him some food, so he didn’t have to worry about survival.
Xiao Xiao loved spending time with the scholar. According to her, the young man would always give her treats every time she paid him a visit. The couple had never heard of some of the food she had mentioned.
The couple pondered on this issue many times. The scholar received his food from the villagers, so where did he even get some treats to share with the children?
However, to Xiao Xiao, anything edible was delicious.
After Xiao Xiao was out of sight, the stout woman turned around and saw that her Husband was seated by the table. He took a few sips of the tea and sighed.
Annoyed by her Husband’s behaviour, the stout woman landed a slap on his back, almost causing him to spit blood, “Just spill it! Stop sighing and keeping silent!”
The hunter let out another sigh before saying, “I came across a woman on the mountain today.”
While glaring at him, the stout woman sneered, “Was she beautiful?”
After becoming startled for a moment, the hunter put on a helpless smile, “What are you talking about? Why don’t you ask me where I saw her?”
The stout woman snorted, “Where did you run into her?”
In a grim voice, the hunter replied, “In that house.”
The stout woman fell into a dazed state for a moment, then her expression changed, “What do you mean?”
Gazing at her, the hunter went on to say, “You’re also aware that I picked up Xiao Xiao from the log house on the mountain back then. Over the years, I’d go take a look at the house whenever I go hunting in that area. I’ve never seen anyone there, but today, there was a woman in the log house. Judging from the clothes she was wearing, she should be from a well-to-do family. She also had some servants with her.”
“So what?” The stout woman appeared wary.
The hunter continued, saying, “I asked them what they were doing there, and one of the servants told me that the woman lost something around there a few years ago, so they were looking for it now.”
The stout woman’s expression changed drastically, “Have they found it?”
The hunter shook his head, “I never asked her what she had lost.”
“Did she see Xiao Xiao?”
The hunter replied, “No. Xiao Xiao and I separated to run down a roe deer. She wasn’t by my side at that time.”
The stout woman was evidently relieved.
The hunter sighed, “Dear, I think the woman’s appearance somewhat resembles Xiao Xiao…”
“Shut up!” The stout woman roared. The hunter was so shocked that he hunched his back. He wouldn’t dare to offend his Wife when she was enraged.
Relentless, the stout woman walked up to the door and placed her hands on her hips before shouting at the clearing outside the house, “You have lost her, so what’s the point of you looking for her now? You were not heartbroken when you lost her back then, so how could you look for her when she’s healthy now? Do you think she’ll go back to you? What a heartless woman!” She spat in contempt.
There seemed to be an invisible enemy outside the house as the stout woman resentfully cursed at it. She didn’t have any other skills, but she excelled at cursing at the people she hated.
It wasn’t until a long time later that her fury slightly subsided. She turned around and stared at the hunter, “Go up the mountain and kill that woman with your bow tomorrow!”
The hunter’s forehead was covered with cold sweat, “I don’t think that’s a good idea.”
“What’s wrong with that? I’ll take all the responsibility!” The stout woman appeared determined as she walked towards the table and picked up the teapot. She directly chugged it down to quench her thirst.
After she was done drinking it, she landed the teapot on the table with a loud thud. Then, she sat on the chair with a listless expression. She was no longer as feisty as earlier when she cursed at the invisible enemy.
A moment later, she covered her eyes with her hands.
The hunter stole a glance and asked, “Why are you crying all of a sudden?”
The stout woman was trying to suppress her sorrow when she heard her Husband’s words. Unable to take it anymore, she started bawling her eyes out, “Darling, don’t you think that Xiao Xiao is a gift to us from the Heavens? No one can take her away from us, right?”
It had been over 20 years since the couple got married. They were pretty hard-working when they were younger, but for some reason, she couldn’t bear a child.
When the hunter brought Xiao Xiao back from the mountain four years ago, the stout woman thought that the Heavens had finally had mercy on her by sending this child to her.
Initially, she still hoped that her Husband could find Xiao Xiao’s relatives so that she could return to her family; however, four years had passed, and the couple already regarded Xiao Xiao to be their Daughter. They were not willing to part ways with her now.
At the thought of the possibility of Xiao Xiao leaving her, the stout woman was heartbroken.
The hunter placated her by saying, “Well, I simply chanced upon a wealthy woman who lost something several years ago. She’s just looking for it now. She might not necessarily be Xiao Xiao’s relative.”
The stout woman’s vision had turned blurred from all the crying. While sobbing, she said, “You said that the woman resembles Xiao Xiao, and she’s looking for something she lost. Who else could she be if she’s not Xiao Xiao’s Mother?”
At that, the hunter fell silent.
In fact, such a thought sprang into his mind the moment he saw the woman. That was because Xiao Xiao indeed took after her.
While the stout woman continued bawling, the hunter remained silent.
A moment later, he said, “The child has her own parents. The woman is from a wealthy family. If Xiao Xiao goes back to her, she’ll have a bright future. It’s much better than staying with us here. In the future, she’ll be able to marry a good man.”
The stout woman abruptly stopped crying and stood straight up. Glaring at the hunter, she threatened, “If you dare to send Xiao Xiao back to her, I’ll break your legs!”
Saying so, she turned around and shuffled towards her room.
When she brushed past the hunter, she landed a kick on the bench that he was seated on.
In an instant, the bench broke apart with a crack. The hunter lost his balance and fell to the ground. Gazing at the broken bench, he gulped.
Although he knew that his wife was strong, he hadn’t expected her to be this strong.
Undoubtedly, his leg was not as robust as the bench. As he recalled what she had told him before she left, he decided to keep his mouth shut.
…..
There was a simple-looking house at the bottom of the mountain. Despite that, it was jointly built by the villagers and was sturdy enough to fend off rain and wind.
This was the residence of the scholar who happened to visit this place four years ago. It also served as a school in the village. Other than the kids in the village, the hunters from the neighbouring villages would also send their children to this school when they learned that there was a scholar who could teach children how to read and write.
Therefore, more than 10 kids would frequently gather together in this small school for lessons.
The kids from the mountain villages were reckless and naughty. Initially, the hunters were worried that this frail-looking teacher wouldn’t be able to discipline them. They wouldn’t want to see their kids causing any trouble.
However, they were surprised to learn that regardless of how mischievous the kids were, they would become obedient and studious the moment they stepped into this school.
The teacher didn’t seem to have any special ways of disciplining the kids. He simply taught them how to read and write. This strange revelation amazed the hunters.
At this moment, the teacher, who was giving the kids a lesson, cracked a smile all of a sudden, as though he had discovered something funny.
The students were puzzled, but none of them dared to ask him about it because he always had this strange sense of authority about him. With that said, there was still a kid who raised her hand and asked in a clear voice, “Sir, why are you smiling all of a sudden?”
The person who asked this question was none other than Xiao Xiao, who looked smaller than the other children.
Instead of feeling afraid, the kids all respected the teacher. He had never punished them in any way; however, as soon as they stepped into this school, they would become obedient.
Nevertheless, Xiao Xiao was the only one who didn’t seem to revere the teacher and she was the only one who had the audacity to interrupt the teacher when he was giving a lesson.
Upon hearing that, the teacher lifted his head and revealed a stalwart-looking face. He replied with a smile, “Nothing. I just thought of something funny.”
With a tilted head, Xiao Xiao appeared puzzled.
The teacher continued with the lesson.
The reason he put on a smile was that he had detected what happened in the hunter’s home. The way the stout wife reacted was hilarious.
In fact, he was aware that there was a wealthy woman in the log house on the mountain. Strictly speaking, she indeed resembled Xiao Xiao in a way; however, one wouldn’t have thought so if he didn’t have such a preconceived idea.
He knew that the wealthy woman had nothing to do with Xiao Xiao; after all, Xiao Xiao was a Ninth-Order Old Ancestor while the wealthy woman was just one of the many living beings in his Small Universe.
It was just a coincidence and the couple was being too sensitive.
When the hunter brought the Old Ancestor back to his home, Yang Kai followed behind them. Despite realising that there was something wrong with the Old Ancestor, he didn’t have a way to deal with it; therefore, he could only pretend to be a poor wandering scholar and settle down in this village so that he could keep in contact with the Old Ancestor and observe her.
Over the past four years, he had noticed some things that concerned him.
First of all, the Old Ancestor was terribly injured; otherwise, she would have grown in size after such a long time. Her injury was so deep though that even Yang Kai was unable to detect it.
When the Old Ancestor started growing, it would mean that she was on the road to recovery.
It was the second point that especially puzzled him though.
It seemed that the Old Ancestor had indeed lost her memory. It had been four years since he started approaching the Old Ancestor, but she always regarded him to be the teacher in the village. She didn’t remember anything that had happened in the past.
Yang Kai had a feeling that the Old Ancestor had sealed her memory voluntarily, but he had no idea why she had done so.
Now, he could only cooperate with the Old Ancestor by giving her the best environment to recuperate and hope that she would recover soon.
After the lesson ended, the kids returned to their homes.
Yang Kai remained seated in the classroom. A moment later, a petite figure stuck her head out from the door and flashed a smile at him.
A helpless Yang Kai shook his head with a smile. Although the Old Ancestor’s memory had been sealed off, it seemed being a foodie was innate to her.
He beckoned to Xiao Xiao, who then skipped towards him and obediently stood there.
Then, he turned his palm over and revealed a skewer of candied hawthorns before passing it to her.
An elated Xiao Xiao said sweetly, “Thank you, Sir!”
…..
In the middle of the night, Xiao Xiao realised that something was off. She extended her hand and discovered that her Mother, who was hugging her, was crying.
Puzzled, she asked, “Why are you crying, Mother? Did Father bully you?”
The stout woman shook her head repeatedly, “No. I was just having a nightmare.”
“Oh.” Believing her statement to be true, Xiao Xiao turned over and snuggled up to the stout woman. As she patted the stout woman’s back, she placated her by saying, “Don’t worry, Mother. I’m here for you.”
Whenever she had a nightmare in the past, her Mother would always pat her back, and she would fall asleep again soon.
“I’m not afraid because I know you’re here for me,” the stout woman replied and hugged the little girl even tighter.
The next day, the stout woman dressed Xiao Xiao up and helped her put on the clothes she was wearing four years ago when they picked her up.
As Xiao Xiao hadn’t grown over the last four years, she could still fit into those clothes. It wasn’t certain what the clothes were made of, but they still looked brand new even after four years.
The stout woman was on the brink of breaking into tears as she dressed Xiao Xiao up.
On the other hand, the hunter squatted outside the house in silence.
The couple had not talked about this, but the hunter knew what his Wife’s intention was the moment he saw what she was doing.
Xiao Xiao still remained joyful.
After the stout woman was done with it, she looked at the sweet and innocent smile in the mirror and let out a sigh.
Xiao Xiao said, “Mother, it’ll be hard for me to go hunting in such clothes.”
The stout woman forced a smile, “You’re not going to go hunting today.”
With her head tilted, Xiao Xiao asked curiously, “Am I not? I’ll look for the teacher, then.”
“You’re not looking for the teacher either.” The stout woman took Xiao Xiao’s hand and rose from the chair, “Your Father will bring you to a place. Just follow him.”
“En,” despite feeling perplexed, Xiao Xiao nodded.
The hunter stepped into the house and exchanged glances with his Wife before looking away. He beckoned to Xiao Xiao, “Let’s go.”
“Yes!” Xiao Xiao skipped forward, and the hunter followed behind her.
All of a sudden, the stout woman shouted from behind, “Xiao Xiao!”
By the time Xiao Xiao turned around, the stout woman had approached her and pulled her into her arms. Trying her best to stop her tears from sliding down her face, the stout woman said, “You must stay safe no matter what.”
“I know, Mother. Wait for me, I’ll bring you something delicious.” Xiao Xiao nodded repeatedly.
“Go now,” The stout woman forced herself to release Xiao Xiao and turned around. She didn’t dare to take another glance at her, for she was worried that she wouldn’t have the heart to let her go.
Behind her, Xiao Xiao’s laugh faded into the distance.
A while later, the stout woman whirled around, but Xiao Xiao was no longer in sight. She raced forward, but the next instant, she stopped in her tracks and grasped the door frame as she fell into a dazed state.
A long time later, she fished out a skewer of candied hawthorns from her clothes and carefully unwrapped the paper before taking a bite. She swallowed it along with her tears.
[It’s sweet…]
The hunter had walked along the rugged mountain paths countless times, but this time, it was the most difficult walk in his life.
They took a break from time to time, and it wasn’t until the afternoon that they arrived at the log house.
Initially, he hoped that the wealthy woman would have left by now so that he no longer had to feel conflicted; however, he came just as the woman was about to leave.
The woman was surprised to see the hunter, but what surprised her even further was that he had brought a young child, who was wearing expensive clothes, with him.
While the servants were vigilant, the woman let the hunter get closer to her.
“Is there something you want to tell me?” The woman asked. She had a feeling that the hunter had come all the way here to look for her. As she spoke, she took a glance at the child beside him. At that instant, she couldn’t move her eyes away.
That was because the young child was truly adorable. It wouldn’t be an exaggeration to say that she was beautiful. The woman came from a well-to-do family, and she had seen many young children from wealthy families, but none of them was comparable to the little girl before her eyes.
If the child before her eyes was like a skylark, the ones she had seen in the past were no different from the mud on the ground.
She couldn’t believe that such a child lived in this remote mountain.
The hunter felt heartbroken when he realised that the woman was staring fixedly at Xiao Xiao. [I suppose she can recognise Xiao Xiao. After all, Xiao Xiao hadn’t changed one bit over the past four years. If this woman is her relative, it was expected that she could recognise her.]
He parted his lips in an attempt to say something, but he couldn’t bring himself to say anything in the end.
Xiao Xiao was a friendly and outgoing young girl, so she flashed a sweet smile at the woman and asked, “How are you, Madame?”
The woman put on a smile as well, “Such a good child.”
She beckoned to a servant, who then came forward with a lunch box. The woman bent her back and passed the lunch box to Xiao Xiao, “I made this. It’s delicious. Give it a try.”
Xiao Xiao turned to look at the hunter as though she was asking for his permission. Her gaze suggested that she badly wanted the food. This couldn’t be helped, as she could never resist good food.
However, the hunter had fallen into a dazed state.
This was different from what he had imagined. Although the woman seemed to be fond of Xiao Xiao, it didn’t look like she had identified the latter to be her relative.
[Could it be…]
Agitated, the hunter asked, “Madame, you told me that you’d lost something the day before. Have you found it yet?”
The woman shook her head, “I lost it several years ago, and I don’t remember where I lost it. I just feel that this place looks familiar to me, so I thought I’d lost it around here. Unfortunately, it seems I was mistaken. In any case, it’s not something so important, so I’ve decided to give up looking for it.”
The hunter, whose figure was stiff, became at ease in an instant.
Inside the house, the stout woman was seated on a chair as she embraced Xiao Xiao with a bright smile. She was so ecstatic that it was as though she had retrieved something irreplaceable she had lost.
Xiao Xiao felt that her Mother was strange on this day, but she was too young to understand the myriad of things in the world; therefore, she couldn’t specify what was odd.
Presently, there was a lunch box in front of her. It was given to her by the wealthy woman on the mountain. The food inside the lunch box wasn’t expensive, just some osmanthus cakes she had apparently made.
Villagers like them had never seen such delicate cakes before, let alone eaten them.
Half of the osmanthus cakes inside the lunch box were gone, most of them having disappeared into Xiao Xiao’s stomach.
“Have another piece, Mother,” Xiao Xiao picked up an osmanthus cake and held it out for the stout woman.
With a smile, the stout woman replied, “I’m not having anymore. It’s too sweet. Go on and eat it.”
“Alright,” Xiao Xiao replied and munched on the osmanthus cake.
It was so delicious that she had the urge to swallow her own tongue as well.
The hunter was getting ready for the hunting session the next day by sharpening his arrowheads. When he saw the heart-warming scene in the house, he wore a sincere smile.
…..
The North-South Army’s forward base was located on an asteroid that would take a person two days to reach from Great Evolution Pass.
One year ago, the North-South Army clashed with the Black Ink Clan from Great Evolution Pass. Although they had killed a lot of their enemies, they had suffered some losses as well.
The defeated Black Ink Clansmen fled back to Great Evolution Pass and received help from their companions. Since then, they had not left Great Evolution Pass.
One year had passed, and the North-South Army was now locked in a staring contest with the Black Ink Clan stationed at Great Evolution Pass. They were like two beasts that bared their fangs at each other from a distance, but neither could kill the other party, so they didn’t attack.
After suffering a setback previously, the Black Ink Clansmen wouldn’t dare to make a rash move again. They were worried that there would be no turning back once they launched an attack.
On the other hand, the North-South Army didn’t have a way to deal with the Black Ink Clansmen who refused to leave Great Evolution Pass.
It wasn’t until the Humans became the attackers that they realised just how difficult dealing with a Great Pass was. Great Evolution Pass provided the best defence for the Black Ink Clansmen, so if the North-South Army rashly launched an attack, many of their soldiers would lose their lives. Given the collective power of the North-South Army now, it would be hard for them to retrieve Great Evolution Pass in short order, and once they launched an attack and failed, they would lose their advantageous position.
The Army Commander of the Southern Army, Ou Yang Lie, was an irascible person, so the deadlock they were faced with was giving him a headache. Therefore, he urged Mi Jing Lun on a daily basis to come up with a way to lure the Black Ink Clan out of Great Evolution Pass so that they could meet them in battle.
Of course, Mi Jing Lun didn’t have a solution to this problem or he would have used it already. As long as the Black Ink Clan refused to leave Great Evolution Pass, there was little he could do.
“Please calm down, Brother Ou Yang. We’re faced with a stalemate here. Since the Black Ink Clan won’t leave the Pass, it’s hard for us to launch an attack. We have no other choice but to maintain the status quo.” Mi Jing Lun appeased Ou Yang Lie, who had repeatedly looked for him to discuss the plan to deal with the enemy.
Undoubtedly, Ou Yang Lie could understand what the other man was talking about. He was an Eighth-Order Open Heaven Realm Master as well as an Army Commander after all, so even if he was a hotheaded person, he wouldn’t have attained such achievements without being able to understand the bigger strategic picture.
Despite that, he could never change his irritable temperament.
“How long will the confrontation last? For eternity?” Ou Yang Lie said furiously. He thought that the Black Ink Clansmen were too timid. Despite their vast Army, they didn’t have the courage to launch an attack and only knew how to hide. It was expected that he was annoyed.
Mi Jing Lun comforted, “We certainly can’t let the confrontation go on for eternity, but the breakthrough we need can’t be achieved here by us. For now, we’ll have to depend on the East-West Army.”
Ou Yang Lie darted his gaze around and gave it a thought. He then said, “Brother Mi, you mean…”
Mi Jing Lun nodded, “If the East-West Army can deal a heavy blow to the Black Ink Clan at the Royal City, the Royal Lord will surely become flustered. When that happens, the Black Ink Clan occupying Great Evolution Pass won’t be able to keep hiding. They certainly have to head to the Royal City upon receiving the Royal Lord’s order, and we’ll be able to take action.”
Upon hearing that, Ou Yang Lie nodded repeatedly, “You have a point. Brother Mi, when do you think the breakthrough will be achieved?”
Mi Jing Lun replied, “That will depend on how long those from the Royal City can persevere; however, I don’t think it’ll happen in a short time. The number of soldiers in the East-West Army is roughly the same as ours. Although they have the Old Ancestor with them, the Black Ink Clan over there have a Royal Lord. It won’t be easy to achieve a breakthrough. Now, what we should do is find a way to contact the East-West Army. It would be best if we could communicate instantly so that it would be easier for us to carry out any following plans.”
Ou Yang Lie shook his head, “That will be difficult. This place is too far away from the Royal City. It’s not hard to contact them, but the exchange of information will be sluggish. We can’t make it instantaneous.”
Mi Jing Lun nodded, “It would be best if we could let Martial Nephew Yang build several Universe Arrays between Great Evolution Pass and the Royal City; however, I’m afraid he’s busy right now as he has to help with the Old Ancestor’s healing. Otherwise, given Xiang Shan’s far-sightedness, he would have told Yang Kai to do so already. Still, sluggish or not, being able to share information is essential.”
Ou Yang Lie said, “In that case, we should send someone to the East-West Army.”
Mi Jing Lun put on a smile, “I’ve already done so. He should have arrived by now.”
Upon hearing that, Ou Yang Lie couldn’t help but roll his eyes. [This guy only told me about it after he’d done it. It makes me look ignorant. It’s taxing to work with such a scheming person.]
Mi Jing Lun looked at the depths of the void. There were two reasons why he had sent someone to the East-West Army. First of all, he really did need to exchange information with them. Secondly, he wanted to find out how the East-West Army was planning to attack the Royal City.
The Royal City was protected by a large number of Black Ink Clansmen, and the Royal Lord was around, so it wouldn’t be easy for the East-West Army to attack given their current strength. Mi Jing Lun had put himself in the shoes of the Army Commanders in the East-West Army and pondered on what he could do. He had come up with some possible solutions, but he didn’t think they would be very effective; therefore, he wanted to find out how Xiang Shan would act.
Meanwhile, the East-West Army was mobilizing at their forward base. The Warships, which were initially docked on the Universe World, rose into the sky and soared towards the void.
When the Eighth-Order Division Commander Cha Pu, who was standing on a mountain, saw that, he appeared surprised and asked the person beside him, “Are you going to attack the Royal City?”
Cha Pu was the Division Commander of Northern Army’s 4th Division. He was also the person Mi Jing Lun had sent to this place to contact the East-West Army. Just like Mi Jing Lun had expected, Cha Pu had arrived at this place three days ago. He came at a time when the East-West Army was about to carry out a grand plan, so he decided to stay and observe so that he could bring more details back to Mi Jing Lun.
The reason an Eighth-Order Open Heaven Realm Master was asked to come to this place was that it was a long journey that was paved with danger. If a Seventh-Order Master was told to come here, he might not make it. Therefore, Mi Jing Lun could only send an Eighth-Order Division Commander.
It had been peaceful on the North-South Army’s side recently, so it would be fine even though Cha Pu wasn’t around.
Additionally, he was the one who came to Yang Kai’s rescue after the latter killed an Eighth-Order Black Ink Disciple.
Presently, the person standing beside him was Xiang Shan’s adjutant, Li Xing.
Xiang Shan had ordered him to keep Cha Pu company and answer his questions.
Now, the soldiers of the East-West Army had been mobilised as though they were going to attack the Royal City. Anyone who wasn’t blind could see that.
This made Cha Pu feel worried. He had seen the defensive formation around the Royal City. Given the East-West Army’s current power, it would be unwise to directly attack the Royal City. Once the two parties clashed, the East-West Army would suffer immense losses.
Although he knew Xiang Shan wouldn’t do something so foolish, he couldn’t help but feel worried.
To the side, Li Xing replied, “Don’t worry about it, Martial Uncle Cha. Sir Xiang has said that you just have to keep watching.”
Cha Pu turned to look at him with a smile, “Oh? Did Senior Brother Xiang say that? It seems that the mobilisation of soldiers is just a pretence.”
Li Xing lowered his gaze, “I wouldn’t dare to reveal details about ongoing military operations.”
He knew everything about the Army as he was Xiang Shan’s adjutant, but without his permission, he wouldn’t break secrecy.
Cha Pu didn’t intend to make things difficult for him, so after a nod, he said, “Since you’ve said so, I’ll be looking forward to it then. Let’s see how Senior Brother Xiang is going to deal with the Black Ink Clan.”
They fell silent after that.
The mobilisation of the East-West Army was swift. Upon receiving the order, the soldiers from different Divisions, who had been resting and building up their strength for the past year boarded their Warships and soon formed into a fleet. There were over 2,000 Warships setting sail, giving off a menacing air.
Certainly, what they were doing couldn’t be hidden from the Black Ink Clan, so those from the Royal City instantly detected the anomaly.
Che Kong was standing on the deck of his great ship. With a solemn expression, he stared intently towards the front.
He had no idea why the Humans had suddenly assumed a Battle Formation, but regardless of the reason, it seemed that a fight was inevitable.
Before the Royal Lord fell asleep, he had ordered that they should defend the Royal City at all costs. They could ignore the Humans if the latter didn’t try to invade the Royal City; however, if there was movement, they had to do their best to stop the Humans.
Therefore, the moment Che Kong noticed the mobilisation of the Human Army, he passed down an order. Soon, a million Black Ink Clansmen were ready for the war.
However, Che Kong found something odd a moment later.
The Humans didn’t directly come at the Royal City. Instead, they were heading towards the left side of the Royal City and circling around it.
This made Che Kong feel puzzled.
[What are the Humans trying to achieve? Are they trying to launch an attack on the back of the Royal City by circling around it right in front of me? That’s ridiculous, do they think I’m blind?]
If the Humans had the audacity to do such a thing, Che Kong swore that he would destroy them for their insolence.
Cha Pu, who was watching from the forward base, was equally puzzled. He shared Che Kong’s sentiment. By circling around the Royal City without any cover, they couldn’t achieve anything other than wasting their time.
However, he didn’t ask any questions. The leaders of the East-West Army must have their reason for acting this way, so he just kept watching.
Mi Jing Lun wanted to find out how the East-West Army was going to achieve a breakthrough, so perhaps this battle would be the key.
It would only take a person half a day to reach the Royal City from the East-West Army’s forward base, so by circling around the Royal City, the East-West Army’s fleet arrived at its left side a bit more than half a day later.
They stopped moving forward at this point and with a Battalion-Class Warship leading the way, the fleet charged towards the Royal City in a domineering manner.
The East-West Army’s fleet was rapidly getting closer to the Royal City.
Certainly, the Black Ink Clansmen wouldn’t sit back and do nothing. Che Kong ordered half of the one million Black Ink soldiers to head to the left side of the city and prepare to intercept the enemy.
This was the right move as well as the only solution.
With that said, Che Kong wasn’t a fool, so he didn’t send all his soldiers to the left side of the city. He had to be wary of a potential sneak attack from the Humans.
The Humans’ fleet was indeed coming at them from the left, but it was just a fleet of Warships after all, no one could guarantee that all the Humans were on those Warships. If all the Black Ink Clan soldiers gathered together on the left flank, they would be powerless to deal with the Humans if the latter launched an attack from the right.
Che Kong was confident that the fleet was only meant to harass them while the Humans’ target was the right side of the Royal City; otherwise, they wouldn’t have openly circled around the Royal City to attract their attention.
Therefore, while sending some Black Ink Clan soldiers to the left, Che Kong also told the remaining Black Ink Clansmen to keep an eye on any anomaly on the right side.
As time passed, an austere atmosphere pervaded the void.
Half a day later, the two groups were only 5 million kilometres away from each other. At such a distance, the Eighth-Order Open Heaven Realm Masters and the Territory Lords could start exchanging moves; however, both parties restrained themselves as none of them decided to make a move first.
At this point, what was going on with the Human Warships could clearly be seen.
What surprised Che Kong was that the Warships were indeed full of Human cultivators.
This made him feel perplexed. He initially thought that the fleet only served as a pretence to attract their attention while a massive amount of Human soldiers would secretly gather together on the right side of the Royal City and launch a sneak attack on them.
However, that didn’t seem to be the case now.
The Warships were full of Humans. In other words, all the Humans had gathered together in this fleet. There wasn’t another group of soldiers.
[Why did they intentionally make a detour? If they’re not trying to fool us, what’s the point of them circling around the Royal City? Could they be avoiding something? Wait, avoiding…]
All of a sudden, Che Kong’s expression changed drastically as he stared off into the depths of the void, recalling the events from one year ago.
The three Universe Worlds that flew in a straight line had come at them from that direction back then.
The Human fleet had perfectly avoided that direction by making a detour.
In the meantime, Yang Kai, who was giving a lesson in the classroom in his Small Universe, looked up all of a sudden. He saw through the barrier of his Small Universe and gazed at the depths of the void.
He was in a position where he could detect the anomalies coming from a certain region of the void before the Black Ink Clan could do so.
[They’re coming again!]
Yang Kai had seen the same scene a year ago. There were some Universe Worlds coming over from the depths of the void at the speed of lightning as they hurtled towards the Royal City.
The last time he saw such a sight, the Universe Worlds radiated a dazzling glow as the arrays around them operated at full capacity.
The Universe Worlds were not so eye-catching this time; in fact, they were rather furtive. Apparently, the Array Masters had restricted the light from the arrays so that the Universe Worlds could remain hidden.
They were trying to catch the Black Ink Clan off guard; however, the three Universe Worlds were unable to harm the Black Ink Clan previously, so what about this time?
“What are you looking at, Sir?” Xiao Xiao asked curiously. She followed Yang Kai’s gaze and saw that there was an insect that was trying to struggle out of the spider web on the ceiling.
“Nothing,” Yang Kai lowered his head with a smile and continued with the lesson.
Meanwhile, the Universe Worlds, which were equipped with various arrays, skirted past the forward base and flew towards the Royal City.
Cha Pu, who was watching everything from the mountain, widened his eyes in disbelief and exclaimed, “Is that the trump card all of you have prepared?”
Li Xing, who was beside him, replied, “Yes.”
As Cha Pu gazed at the Universe Worlds and the place where the East-West Army was located, he gasped, “The soldiers and the Universe Worlds are flanking the enemy. The Black Ink Clan can’t possibly deal with both sides at the same time. That’s indeed an ingenious plan.”
It was no wonder that Mi Jing Lun regarded Xiang Shan highly. It seemed that the man indeed lived up to his fame.
The Universe Worlds were equipped with various arrays, so even an Eighth-Order Open Heaven Realm Master like Cha Pu could feel the dangerous auras exuding from them. It could be expected that if these things smashed into the Black Ink Clan’s lines, many of them would lose their lives.
The only way to deal with these Universe Worlds was to destroy them before they could get close, which required the powerful Masters from the Black Ink Clan to make a move. But when they did so, the East-West Army could launch an attack and hit the Black Ink Clan’s exposed flank.
However, faced with this situation, could the Masters from the Black Ink Clan sit back and do nothing? That was impossible.
Furthermore, the timing was immaculate. The East-West Army was only 5 million kilometres away from the Royal City, so they could launch an attack at any moment, and there was no way the Black Ink Clan could ignore them.
They would have their hands full as they had to deal with an attack from two sides.
An idea suddenly sprang into Cha Pu’s mind. Since the East-West Army could use such a method to deal with the Black Ink Clan here, could the North-South Army imitate them?
However, he soon dismissed the idea and let out a sigh.
The North-South Army couldn’t do the same because Great Evolution Pass was different from the Royal City. Although the Royal City was the most important place for the Black Ink Clan in the Great Evolution Theatre, it didn’t have powerful defences or fortifications set up. Therefore, faced with the Universe Worlds, the Black Ink Clan couldn’t ignore them.
Great Evolution Pass was different as it was extremely sturdy. If the North-South Army wanted to do the same by leveraging Universe Worlds to attack the enemy, the Black Ink Clan in Great Evolution Pass could simply ignore them. Even if the Universe Worlds smashed into Great Evolution Pass, it was questionable if it would suffer any damage at all.
To the side, Li Xing explained, “In fact, we sent three Universe Worlds over one year ago.”
“Oh?” Cha Pu arched his brow, “What was the outcome?”
Li Xing replied, “It wasn’t effective. There are many Masters on the Black Ink Clan’s side. Before the Universe Worlds could get close to the Royal City, they were shattered.”
Upon hearing that, Cha Pu said, “Ineffectiveness was the outcome you all wanted to see, right?”
Li Xing nodded, “You’re indeed intelligent, Martial Uncle Cha.”
Cha Pu chuckled, “I’m afraid I don’t deserve your compliment. It seems that Senior Brother Xiang is indeed a far-sighted person.”
As they spoke, the Black Ink Clansmen from the Royal City had descended into chaos.
Although the lights and outward traces of the arrays were concealed, the Territory Lords could certainly detect the dangerous auras that were rapidly approaching.
They looked over intently and saw a number of Universe Worlds flying right at the Royal City.
Unlike the previous time, these Universe Worlds were not positioned in a straight line so they could already see three Universe Worlds with their bare eyes, and they believed there were even more would appear soon.
Che Kong gnashed his teeth, but after giving it a quick thought, he passed down a new order.
The next instant, more than 10 Territory Lords and over 20 Eighth-Order Black Ink Disciples shot into the sky and charged towards the Universe Worlds.
They had gone through the same incident one year ago, so they knew how to deal with these Universe Worlds; after all, they already had some experiences.
As long as they could shatter these Universe Worlds before they could get close, the Royal City wouldn’t be impacted one bit; however, back then, all the Masters from the Black Ink Clan had joined forces to easily ward off the three Universe Worlds.
This time, they could only utilise 30% of the manpower they previously had.
This couldn’t be helped, as the Humans’ fleet was too close to the Royal City and they appeared determined to launch an attack. There was no way Che Kong could ignore this threat. He had to keep 60% to 70% of his forces to deal with the Humans to ensure that they could keep the Royal City safe.
Violent energy fluctuations burst forth as different Secret Techniques and Divine Abilities burst forth. The moment these Territory Lords and Eighth-Order Black Ink Disciples made a move, they easily shattered the surrounding space.
None of them were fools, so they did not disperse their powers and instead focused on the Universe World at the front to destroy it first.
Based on their previous experience, they could easily turn a Universe World into dust by joining forces.
Nevertheless, after they made a move, they realised that this Universe World was different from the ones they had dealt with back then. It was far sturdier. Apparently, the Array Masters had reinforced the Universe World with arrays.
Therefore, after the first round of attacks, even though the Universe had broken into pieces, it didn’t explode into dust as they had expected.
Furthermore, the moment the Universe World came apart, rays of horrifying light were shot from the universe fragments towards the Royal City.
This was obviously a prearranged effect of these Spirit Arrays. Once the Universe World was attacked, the arrays would start running on their own.
It was very unlike what had happened previously.
The Territory Lords and the Eighth-Order Black Ink Disciples were caught off-guard, and although they had promptly made a move, they still couldn’t stop the universe fragments from raining down on the Royal City.
What’s more, there were still two complete Universe Worlds behind these fragments.
The Territory Lords roared and fully activated their powers. The Eighth-Order Black Ink Disciples wouldn’t dare to hold back either and cast all the Divine Abilities and Secret Techniques they could use.
Seeing that, the Feudal Lords, who were the second layer of defence, quickly rose into the sky to assist them.
In just a cup of tea’s time, the Universe Worlds coming from the depths of the void were all shattered. What astonished the Black Ink Clan was that there were 10 Universe Worlds this time, which was more than three times as many Universe Worlds as a year ago.
Although they had destroyed all 10 Universe Worlds, they still couldn’t rest easy, for after every Universe World was shattered, the pre-set arrays on it would explode.
In order to fend off the powers of those arrays and falling universe fragments, several Eighth-Order Black Ink Disciples became wounded while many Seventh-Order Black Ink Disciples and Feudal Lords lost their lives. As for the High-Rank and Low-Rank Black Ink Clansmen, the losses there were even more significant. Upon receiving the order, they had to do their best to intercept the universe fragments that were falling towards the Royal City.
More and more of them lost their lives as their auras continuously withered.
Despite the Black Ink Clan’s best efforts though, they couldn’t possibly block or deflect all the universe fragments. Finally, there came a moment when a universe fragment crashed into the Universe World where the Royal City was located. The moment of impact, all the remaining Spirit Arrays on the universe fragment detonated and turned into a dazzling light that engulfed all the Black Ink Clansmen around it.
The moment the universe fragment crashed into the Universe World where the Royal City was located, all the Black Ink Clansmen froze.
Che Kong, who had remained in the centre of the Army as he had to prevent the Humans from invading the city, felt his face twitching.
All the Black Ink Clansmen appeared horrified.
They were not afraid that the Universe World where the Royal City was located would be destroyed. Although the universe fragment that crashed was huge, the Black Ink Clan had launched a series of attacks on it; hence, it wouldn’t cause tremendous damage to the Royal City.
They were also not concerned that the arrays on the universe fragment would explode and kill thousands of Black Ink Clansmen.
What they were afraid of was the impact that the crash would bring.
While all the Black Ink Clansmen were terrified, the dormant Will in the Royal Lord’s Black Ink Nest awakened.
It was the Royal Lord.
In the end, the Royal Lord, who had been recuperating, was alerted.
The Will scanned the entire Universe World and all the Black Ink Clansmen as though he was trying to find out what was going on. Soon after, burning fury exuded from his Will.
A million Black Ink Clansmen trembled like quails without a home in the winter.
The Royal Lord’s fury was obviously targeted at them, blaming them for their uselessness in allowing him to be disturbed when he was in a state of deep sleep.
All the Black Ink Clansmen knew what would happen when a person was interrupted when he was recuperating in a Black Ink Nest. All the progress the Royal Lord had in healing over the last year would now go to waste. That was why the Royal Lord was infuriated.
However, he didn’t give any orders; instead, he quickly slumbered off again.
In fact, he didn’t have time to give them instructions. To him, nothing was more important than his recovery. As long as he could make use of the Black Ink Nest’s power and restore his strength before the Human Old Ancestor did, he would gain the upper hand.
All the Black Ink Clansmen knew that such a thing could never happen again; otherwise, many people would lose their heads when the Royal Lord was done healing.
While they were still ill at ease, energy fluctuations could be felt coming from the Human Army on the left side of the Royal City as countless Secret Techniques and Divine Abilities were launched at them.
At that instant, lights of different colours illuminated the entire void as the horrifying bombardment flew towards the Royal City like a storm.
Every attack was equivalent to a move made by a Seventh-Order Open Heaven Realm Master.
The arrays and artifacts on the Warships were meant to maximize the Humans’ combat power; therefore, every attack sent out from a Warship was at least on par with what a Seventh-Order Master could produce.
Simultaneously, a massive number of the Divine Abilities cast by the Eighth-Order Division Commanders.
Che Kong roared as the 600,000 or so Black Ink Clansmen on the left of the Royal City intercepted those attacks.
Although the number of Black Ink Clan outnumbered the Humans 20 to 1, and they had fully activated their powers, they still couldn’t intercept all the attacks.
The rays of light clashed with the Black Ink Clan soldiers, and as the powers within the rays of light exploded, many lost their lives.
The Territory Lords and the Eighth-Order Black Ink Disciples, who were positioned on the right side of the Royal City to destroy the Universe Worlds, hurried over to provide assistance.
Since all the Universe Worlds had been shattered, the Humans no longer had a trump card; therefore, they wouldn’t have to keep an eye on the right flank any longer.
As the Humans had decided to launch an attack on the Royal City from the left flank, the Black Ink Clansmen were forced to engage in a life-and-death battle with them; however, the moment these Territory Lords and Eighth-Order Black Ink Disciples arrived, they were dumbfounded by what they saw.
As the lights of the Secret Techniques and Divine Abilities subsided, the Humans, who were supposed to be just 5 million kilometres away from the Royal City, had actually retreated under the cover of the explosions.
Moreover, they didn’t seem to have the intention of coming back as they were leaving in a hurry.
The Territory Lords were astounded.
Che Kong felt his fury burning in his chest like a volcano that was about to erupt. He was so vexed that he almost coughed up blood. Although he was unresigned, he didn’t dare to order a pursuit and was forced to watch the Human soldiers swagger away.
“Hahaha!” On the mountaintop, Cha Pu, who had witnessed everything, guffawed. He was so ecstatic that he almost cried tears of joy, “What a brilliant move! You all have deceived the Black Ink Clan. It’s indeed terrifying to deal with someone like Brother Xiang.”
He gave such a remark from the Black Ink Clan’s perspective.
Like the Black Ink Clan, he too believed that the East-West Army would make use of the Universe Worlds attack to launch an offensive against the Royal City; after all, it was indeed a good opportunity. Faced with such an emergency, about 30% of the Black Ink Clan’s forces had been forced to move to the right flank to deal with the incoming Universe Worlds. If the Humans had initiated an attack at that point, they would surely have gained the upper hand.
Furthermore, the Human soldiers on the Warships seemed ready to engage in an all-out battle with the Black Ink Clan then and there.
However, none of them could have expected that the East-West Army’s move was just a pretence. Although they appeared menacing by stopping just 5 million kilometres away from the Royal City, they only launched one salvo before running away.
They actually ran away, just like that!
Cha Pu wouldn’t have believed it if he hadn’t seen it with his own eyes.
It was like the Humans had arrived at the Black Ink Clan’s doorstep and slapped them in the face; then, before they could react, the Humans had scampered off. The Black Ink Clan was not even able to counterattack. Anyone would have felt extremely vexed if such an incident happened to them.
It was expected that the Territory Lords were not too happy at this moment.
With that said, such a surprising move was the best decision.
The Humans wouldn’t have suffered a setback if they had launched an attack on the Royal City at that point and could even deal a heavy blow to the enemy in a short time before withdrawing.
However, the Humans would inevitably suffer some losses that way. Moreover, the battlefield could be unpredictable. If the fight dragged on, the advantage they had gained by attacking the enemies with the Universe Worlds would gradually diminish. When that happened, they might not be able to retreat so easily.
There were a million Black Ink Clan soldiers, some 30 or so Territory Lords, and 2 to 3 times that amount of Eighth-Order Black Ink Disciples. That was more than the East-West Army could handle.
By launching one round of attacks and retreating, the Humans could still achieve their objective while preventing any losses.
This time, the Humans only pretended to have the intention of attacking the Royal City, their only goal was to strike the Black Ink Clan with the Universe Worlds, but what about next time, and the time after that?
With enough time and resources, the Humans could repeatedly use this tactic. On the other hand, as long as the Black Ink Clan couldn’t leave the Royal City, they could only passively defend.
Cha Pu was certain that if the Black Ink Clan diverted too many soldiers to intercept the Universe Worlds next time, the East-West Army wouldn’t mind launching an attack on the Royal City and catching them off guard.
The Black Ink Clan were aware of this as well, so as long as the East-West Army made a move, the majority of the Black Ink Clan would stay back to prevent any potential incursion.
However, with only 30% of their Army available to be mobilised, the Black Ink Clan might not be able to protect the Royal City from the Universe Worlds without suffering from any damage, as proven by what had happened earlier.
The Humans had only mobilised 10 Universe Worlds this time, but that wasn’t necessarily their limit.
Perhaps the Black Ink Clan would be greeted with 15 or even 20 Universe Worlds next time.
The East-West Army had devised a solid plan, and as long as they continued implementing it, it was just a matter of time before they could deal a crippling blow to the Royal City, if not destroy it outright.
Upon learning everything that he needed to know, Cha Pu said, “Martial Nephew, since the battle has ended, I’ll head back and report to Army Commander Mi.”
Li Xing was slightly surprised and asked, “Don’t you want to wait for Sir Xiang’s return, Martial Uncle?”
Cha Pu shook his head, “There’s no need for that. Please tell Senior Brother Xiang that the North-South Army will not let the efforts of all of you go to waste, nor will we allow the Black Ink Clan in Great Evolution Pass to come to this place.”
With a solemn expression, Li Xing nodded, “I’ll definitely pass on your words.”
The next instant, Cha Pu turned into a beam of light and shot off into the void.
Half a day later, all of the East-West Army had returned to the forward base.
On this day, the East-West Army had only launched one round of attacks and did nothing else. Without suffering any losses, they managed to kill some Black Ink Clansmen with the 10 Universe Worlds they had prepared.
Although they couldn’t get an exact count, the Commanders believed that in the end, they must have killed 50,000 to 60,000 Black Ink Clansmen.
Of course, such a number was insignificant compared to the million Black Ink Clansmen they were facing; furthermore, those who lost their lives were weaker Black Ink Clansmen. None of the Territory Lords or Eighth-Order Black Ink Disciples were killed, while only a small number of Feudal Lords and Seventh-Order Black Ink Disciples, a few dozen at most, had perished. This kind of loss was negligible to the Black Ink Clan. It was nothing more than a flesh wound.
With that said, the casualties of the Black Ink Clan were not their biggest victory. They had achieved their main goal for launching the attack, which was to interrupt the Royal Lord’s recuperation.
After the last Universe World was shattered, a fragment crashed into the Universe World where the Royal City was located. Apparently, the Royal Lord had awakened upon impact. Although the Humans were millions of kilometres away from the Royal City, they could still detect the menacing Will.
The main goal of the East-West Army this time was to disturb the Royal Lord, killing Black Ink Clansmen came second.
Presently, both the Royal Lord and the Old Ancestor were recuperating. The Royal Lord made use of the Black Ink Nest’s power while the Old Ancestor had Yang Kai’s Small Universe. It could be said that both of them had external aids.
Therefore, the person who could recover quicker would gain the upper hand.
Those from the East-West Army couldn’t help the Old Ancestor recover, so they could only set their eyes on the Royal Lord, who could never have thought that the Humans would harass him while he was recuperating inside the Black Ink Nest.
Although they didn’t kill many Black Ink Clansmen, they had attained significant achievements this time.
Presently, the East-West Army couldn’t attack the Royal City because there was a huge gap between their collective powers. By using such tactics, the Humans could gradually shorten the gap and wait for a suitable chance before they launched a real strike on the Royal City. The Black Ink Clan wouldn’t be able to deal with them by then.
This was a long process that couldn’t be rushed.
Better yet, even faced with this provocation, the Black Ink Clan wouldn’t dare to make a move despite technically having superior forces.
They had to protect the Royal City, for once they moved out of position, the East-West Army would have a chance to invade the Royal City and destroy the Royal Lord’s Black Ink Nest.
Therefore, even though they had figured out the Humans’ plan, they still didn’t have a way to deal with it.
The Royal City was like a rope that tied all these Black Ink Clan soldiers to the spot, rendering them immovable. Faced with the Humans’ moves, they couldn’t take the initiative to launch an attack as they could only passively defend the city. It seemed it was fated that they would be led by the nose in this war.
This long-term plan that the leaders of the East-West Army had devised would require a lot of resources.
Besides the fact that all 30,000 Humans needed resources to cultivate, they would also need a massive amount of resources to build the arrays on the Universe Worlds.
Without sufficient resources, those arrays wouldn’t be useful.
There was no doubt that Xiang Shan, as the Army Commander, was an expert in military affairs. This was proven after he was put in charge of the East-West Army; however, Liu Zhi Ping soon realised that he was a spendthrift who didn’t seem to be aware that resources were hard to come by.
In the initial stage of the East-West Army, the Eighth-Order Division Commanders from different Great Passes had brought with them a large amount of resources to provision the campaign.
It could be said that when the East-West Army was being built in Wind and Cloud Pass back then, they had an enormous amount of resources. The higher-ups had made a calculation and concluded that the resources were more than enough for all 30,000 cultivators in the East-West Army to use for 300 years, and there would still be something left over.
300 years was thought to be sufficient for them to retake Great Evolution Pass. As long as Great Evolution Pass was retaken, they wouldn’t have to worry about a lack of resources any longer.
But in fact, resources that were supposed to be enough for 30,000 people to use for 100 years were squandered away by Xiang Shan in just two to three years.
Upon learning that, Liu Zhi Ping was so frustrated that she almost passed out. After giving it a thought, it was obvious where the resources had gone.
A while ago, Xiang Shan told the Artifact Refiners to craft several tens of thousands of puppets to be sent to Great Evolution Pass in order to attract the Black Ink Clan’s attention. Those puppets were all destroyed by the Black Ink Clan.
Now, they had to arrange tens of thousands, if not a hundred thousand arrays on each of the 13 Universe Worlds that were thrown at the Royal City.
All of those projects required a lot of resources.
Regardless of how many resources they brought with them, it wouldn’t last long given Xiang Shan’s wanton spending.
Xiang Shan was the epitome of a man who had no qualms about killing or spending money like water.
This man, who had been dormant for 3,000 years and eventually returned to the Eighth-Order Open Heaven Realm, had both qualities.
Liu Zhi Ping was no match for Xiang Shan when it came to her aptitude in warfare; therefore, since the East-West Army departed from Wind and Cloud Pass, Xiang Shan had been the one who made all the decisions. Liu Zhi Ping only assisted him from the side by analysing the pros and cons of each plan.
But this Army Commander of the Western Army was a woman at the end of the day, so she was naturally an expert in doing accounts and keeping a house in order, which was shown in how delicious the steamed stuffed buns that she made in the Marketplace back in Yin-Yang Pass were.
Therefore, she directly decided to take control of the East-West Army’s finances.
Now, all 30,000 soldiers in the East-West Army faced a conundrum.
At the rate they were using them, the resources they had could only last them 10 years.
None of them could have expected that the first problem they faced in their mission to retake Great Evolution Pass would be about resources; after all, the resources sent to them from various Great Passes were supposedly enough to last them 300 years. They had speculated on what sorts of problems they might face except for the lack of resources.
Without resources, they wouldn’t be able to cultivate, and the damaged Warships couldn’t be repaired, not to mention that their plan to attack the Royal City with Universe Worlds would have to be stopped.
Therefore, the first thing Liu Zhi Ping did after she took control of resource management was to order the soldiers to begin mining the nearby Universe Worlds.
It seemed that the Black Ink Clan was determined to defend the Royal City, so they wouldn’t initiate an attack; therefore, those in the East-West Army would have enough time and energy to do such a thing.
It wasn’t hard for the Humans to extract resources.
They just had to look for suitable Universe Worlds in the void and use the Void Yin-Yang Mirrors to move those Universe Worlds back to somewhere near the forward base. That way, they could extract resources easily without spreading their manpower over too wide an area.
There were 30,000 soldiers in the East-West Army. Even if they took turns, they could mobilise about 10,000 people at any given time. Hence, resource extraction would be very efficient. It would only take them 10 days to half a month to mine out a Universe World.
The teams responsible for searching for suitable Universe Worlds to mine could also look out for Universe Worlds that could be kept and turned into weapons to attack the Royal City with. It was like killing two birds with one stone.
Therefore, when Yang Kai looked out of his Small Universe, he soon saw shattered Universe Worlds in the void after they were fully mined as well as the people busy mining new Universe Worlds.
10 years had passed since he arrived at this village at the bottom of the mountain.
Of course, that was the amount of time that had gone by in his Small Universe. In fact, only two and a half years had passed in the outside world.
To a successful cultivator, 10 years was a very short time, but to an ordinary mortal, 10 years was an appreciable amount of their lifetime.
The World Energy in Yang Kai’s Small Universe was ample, with rich vitality and a peaceful environment. Even ordinary mortals could live up to 100 years without too many problems. Some mortals lived up to 150 years old.
However, to the hunter and his wife, they had reached the middle stage of their lives.
The arrival of Xiao Xiao let them enjoy the happiness of raising a child as they didn’t have one of their own. They had thus given all their love and attention to this Daughter of theirs.
There was no doubt that Xiao Xiao was intelligent as she could learn anything fast. At school, she would always be praised by the teacher.
She was also a filial child who would always help her Mother do some household chores and follow her Father to go hunting.
The couple had no more regrets in life as they already had such a wonderful Daughter.
However, what concerned them was that Xiao Xiao hadn’t grown one bit due to the illness she had since she was younger.
When the hunter picked her up from the log house on the mountain, she looked like she was only three to four years old; now, 10 years had passed, but Xiao Xiao hadn’t changed one bit. She didn’t look like the other kids her age who were now in their teens.
While the hunter was grateful to the Heavens that they were blessed with a child, he and his Wife also prayed for mercy and hoped that they would be punished in Xiao Xiao’s stead as long as she could grow up to be a healthy person.
However, their prayers were unanswered.
To be precise, it wasn’t the right time yet.
Others had no idea what was wrong with Xiao Xiao’s body, but Yang Kai had somewhat figured it out.
The Old Ancestor’s recovery this time was quite odd. Not only did she seal off her own memory, but she also instinctively stopped Yang Kai from concealing her whereabouts.
It seemed that she had the intention of truly becoming a part of this Bustling World, with a local identity and all.
The couple’s child was her identity.
Yang Kai speculated that the reason she hadn’t changed one bit after 10 years was that it had something to do with her injury. Before she recovered, her body would not change; in other words, when she started growing, that would mean that she was on the mend.
Yang Kai felt that it was such a shame. He had secretly examined the Old Ancestor’s body, but he couldn’t discover any kind of injury. Perhaps the Old Ancestor had concealed her wounds using a Secret Technique.
This couldn’t be rushed. The Old Ancestor must have gone all out to deal with the Royal Lord, so she must be terribly injured. It was expected that it would take her quite some time to recover.
It was a small village with only a dozen or so families living here. They were all kind-hearted hunters, and the neighbours would always help each other out; however, in this Bustling World, it was expected that there were devious people out there.
The anomaly with Xiao Xiao’s body eventually caused trouble for her.
Yang Kai had already detected it, but he decided to ignore it. Since the Old Ancestor had to experience life in this Bustling World to recuperate, it would be beneficial to her if she could go through some of the things ordinary mortals would experience.
There were still a little more than 10 kids in the small classroom. The first batch of children had grown up and stopped studying here. They had returned to their homes to help their families earn a living. These kids were the new batch of students.
Xiao Xiao was still one of the students and her appearance didn’t look different from those of the other kids. Nevertheless, after all these years, she was now just as capable and intelligent as the other teenagers.
Therefore, she was like the teacher’s assistant now. Whenever the teacher became dazed and stared off into space, she would be the one who taught the kids how to read and write.
Every morning, she would come over to help him out for two hours, then she would follow her Father to go hunting.
With the book in her hand, she told the kids to repeat after her. Then, she took a glance at the teacher, who was asleep on a chair with a book covering his face, and sighed in a way as though she was a mature person.
The teacher was too indolent. She revered him when she was a child because he would always give her some delicious food; however, as time passed, she eventually discovered the teacher’s true colours.
The light was shaded at the door all of a sudden, and the kids stopped reading out loud. Xiao Xiao turned her head and saw two people standing at the door.
One of them prompted her to frown as a look of disgust appeared on her face.
This couldn’t be helped, as the person was a hunter who lived in a village that was 30 kilometres away. She and her Father came across this person on the mountain on multiple occasions. The last time they ran into him was several days ago. They were chasing after the same prey at the same time; in the end, Xiao Xiao was agile enough to kill it first with an arrow. However, that person insisted that he was the one who discovered the prey. Left with no choice, Xiao Xiao’s Father had to share half of the prey with him, and the matter was settled.
It wasn’t the first time such a thing happened. The other hunters in the village had also experienced this before.
The hunters wouldn’t have given in if that person were just any other commoner; however, Xiao Xiao heard from her Father that this hunter had a relative who cultivated in Water Moon Pavilion. He held a pretty important position, so the average person wouldn’t dare to offend him.
Therefore, the hunters could only hold their fury down and let this person throw his weight around.
It wasn’t certain what this person was in the school for, and the man beside him looked a little unusual. He was unlike the other hunters who had rough and tan skin from working under the sun all day. Instead, he was somewhat similar to the teacher. They both gave off a strange feeling.
Xiao Xiao couldn’t tell what this feeling was; however, the first time she saw the teacher, she had a feeling that he was different from others.
“It’s her!” The hunter pointed at Xiao Xiao, “Look, Uncle Wen Yuan. This girl must be a Spirit!”
The word ‘Spirit’ made Xiao Xiao feel furious.
In the past, the kids in the village would secretly call her Spirit because she never grew up, but she was unusually strong. Despite the fact that she only looked like she was three or four years old, she could follow the adults to go hunting. Sometimes, she could get even more prey than the adults.
However, after the adults disciplined them, the village kids never dared to call her that again.
Although the kids had stopped calling her that, the name had spread to other places.
The hunters in the neighbouring villages were aware that there was a girl who never grew in size here. Despite her petite figure, she was skilful in hunting and could always get more prey than many of the experienced hunters.
When Xiao Xiao and her Father came across other hunters from the other villages, they would look at her with curious glances; however, only this deplorable guy would call her a Spirit right to her face.
The person, whom the hunter called Uncle Wen Yuan, was a fair-skinned and tall young man. He was clad in a green robe, and standing beside the young man, the rough-looking hunter looked like a chicken beside a swan.
From the looks alone, the hunter appeared to be the older one, but in reality, the young man was his Elder.
As a cultivator, the young-looking man was constantly nurtured by World Energy, so he didn’t age at the same rate as a mortal would.
He swept a glance over Xiao Xiao and shook his head.
Although the young girl in front of him was adorable, she didn’t exude any Evil Qi. It was obvious that she wasn’t a Spirit. He was confident in his ability to make such a judgement; after all, he was fairly powerful now after years of cultivating.
Seeing that the young man shook his head, the hunter said anxiously, “Uncle Wen Yuan, don’t be fooled by her appearance. Although she looks like she’s three years old, she already looked like this 10 years ago. No one knows how old she really is! Perhaps she’s a very old Spirit. It’s said that powerful Spirits are able to assume Human forms.”
Xiao Xiao couldn’t help but bare her teeth at the hunter. The moment she was called an old Spirit, she was furious for some reason. She had the urge to tear his mouth apart. It wasn’t certain why, but she seemed sensitive to the word ‘old’.
“Oh?” Wen Yuan arched his brow, “She already looked like this 10 years ago?”
“It’s true.” The hunter nodded repeatedly, “Everyone around this area knows this. You can ask around.”
Wen Yuan stroked his chin, “That’s interesting.”
When he heard his Nephew say that there was a Spirit in this place, he decided to come over to have a look as he had a duty to kill off harmful beings that might disrupt the world. If there was really a Spirit, he could just kill her with his sword; however, the moment he saw the little girl, he knew that she wasn’t a Spirit.
Even the most successful Spirit couldn’t perfectly conceal their Evil Qi, unless their power vastly exceeded his own.
He was now an Origin King, so a Spirit would need to be in the Dao Source Realm, at the very least, to deceive him.
Such Spirits were incredibly rare across the entire Void Continent, so how was it possible that there was one in this remote village?
With that said, when he learned that the little girl had remained the same for the past 10 years, he grew curious.
Just when he was about to ask the little girl if he could examine her, he felt a shadow engulfing him from behind.
When he turned around, he saw a stout woman with a chubby face who was glaring at him.
Behind the stout woman stood over 10 hunters and their Wives with bows and farm tools in their hands. They didn’t look very friendly.
It was a small village, so they could easily see that a hunter from another village had brought a young man with him as they stood in front of the classroom door. It was apparent that they were up to no good.
No one had to shout to inform everyone about it. The moment the adults from this village saw it, they came over in a hurry.
The hunter from the other village felt timid when he saw so many people glaring at him, but as he recalled that he had a powerful backer with him, he straightened up and stared back provocatively at them.
“Is something the matter, Madam?” Wen Yuan asked curiously as he gazed at the furious stout woman.
With a grim expression, the stout woman landed a slap on his shoulder and replied, “Nothing is wrong. I just want to know what you’re doing here.”
Although she had exerted a lot of force with her hand, she realised that the thin-looking young man was completely unfazed. There wasn’t even a look of pain on his face.
She was confident that she could have broken a piece of wood with such strength.
Suddenly realising something, she glanced at the young man with a solemn expression as she decided to push him away instead. The young man played along by stepping aside.
The stout woman stepped into the classroom and turned around. Her burly figure was like a tower that fended off all the rain and wind from her Daughter.
Behind her, Xiao Xiao stuck out her head and pointed at the hunter, “Mother, that guy called me a Spirit.”
The stout woman glowered at the hunter and snapped, “You’re a bastard, Zhang Gen! Are you sick of living? What right do you have to call my Daughter a Spirit? I think you and your family members are the actual Spirits instead!”
The hunter named Zhang Gen said smugly, “How dare a peasant like you make a scene in front of a senior expert from Water Moon Pavilion! My Uncle will find out if she’s a Spirit.”
“He’s from Water Moon Pavilion?” The stout woman turned to look at Wen Yuan. Earlier, she had speculated that the person was a cultivator, and now it seemed to be the case. Regardless, she couldn’t appear to be weak as she said grimly, “So what if he’s a senior expert from Water Moon Pavilion? That doesn’t mean you can defame my daughter.”
Cultivation wasn’t a secret to the common man on the Void Continent, and although no one in this village had cultivated before, they had at least heard about it.
Therefore, the stout woman wasn’t afraid even though someone from Water Moon Pavilion was right in front of her.
Wen Yuan put on a helpless smile, “Please calm down, Madam. I’ve never said that this child is a Spirit.”
The stout woman glared at him, “What are you doing here, then?”
Wen Yuan was rendered speechless. The reason he was here was that he had to be cautious by ascertaining if the girl was a Spirit. Now, it was hard for him to explain himself.
After giving it a thought, he replied, “Madam, I’m sure that your Daughter has drawn a lot of criticism over the years because she’s thought to be a Spirit; otherwise, you wouldn’t have become so angered today. I am a Deacon from Water Moon Pavilion, and although I’m not among the most powerful cultivators in my Sect, I’m confident in my vision and judgement. I hope that you’ll allow me to examine this child’s body. I’m sure that it will have a positive impact on this child if I can confirm that she’s not a Spirit, and others will stop calling her that. What do you think?”
Initially, the stout woman was displeased with Wen Yuan, but after what he said, her expression turned milder.
Regardless of anything else, this cultivator didn’t try to oppress them with his strength. Instead, he looked like a kind-hearted and reasonable person by offering to help.
She wouldn’t have given in if this person were mannerless; however, since he had spoken politely, she couldn’t just rebuff him.
With that said, she shook her head, “Xiao Xiao is not a Spirit. I’ve been raising her for 10 years, so I’m fully aware of that. She needs no examination.”
[Even if she was a Spirit, who cares? She’s my beloved Daughter, and no one can humiliate her.]
Surprisingly, the moment she finished speaking, Xiao Xiao pulled the stout woman’s clothes and lifted her face, “Mother, I’d like to be examined.”
The stout woman looked down at her and crouched down. With a benevolent expression, she asked, “Why do you want to be examined? You’re the best child in the world.”
Xiao Xiao turned to look at Wen Yuan, “What if anyone still calls me a Spirit after you examine me and confirm that I’m not?”
With a solemn expression, Wen Yuan replied, “I’m sure my judgment will trump all the rumours.”
As an Origin King, he had full confidence in his authority.
Xiao Xiao nodded, “Go ahead, then.”
With a smile, Wen Yuan said, “Show me your hand.”
Xiao Xiao obediently extended her hand. Wen Yuan stuck out two fingers and felt her pulse before circulating his Saint Qi to examine her.
A moment later, a myriad of expressions came over his face.
The stout woman was extremely nervous as she was worried that the young man would say something that might harm her Daughter’s reputation. She secretly decided that if this guy dared to say something unpleasant, she would give him a punch in the face and break his teeth.
It only took Wen Yuan a little effort to examine the little girl, but his expression was somewhat awkward.
With her head lifted, Xiao Xiao asked, “Am I a Spirit?”
Wen Yuan shook his head, “No.”
In an instant, Xiao Xiao stared at the hunter named Zhang Gen, who was standing at the door, “Did you hear that? If you dare call me that again, I’ll shoot you with my arrows!”
An anxious Zhang Gen said, “Uncle, please look carefully. There must be something off about this girl.”
Upon hearing that, Wen Yuan, who was busy with his own thoughts, turned to look at Zhang Gen with a solemn expression and declared, “I have determined she is not a Spirit, so stop slandering her like this from now on.”
Zhang Gen had never expected the helper he had found would clear the annoying little girl’s name instead. At that instant, he could only remain silent in embarrassment. Wen Yuan was his Elder as well as a cultivator, so he couldn’t disobey him.
The stout woman and the hunter outside the classroom breathed a sigh of relief at the same time.
“What’s your name, little girl?” Wen Yuan gazed at Xiao Xiao with an amiable expression.
Xiao Xiao replied, “Mother named me Xiao Xiao.”
“Xiao Xiao…” Wen Yuan nodded gently.
Just then, the stout woman said sheepishly, “Sir, since you’re a cultivator, can you tell what’s wrong with Xiao Xiao’s body? Why hasn’t she grown over the years?”
She had asked Doctor Cai about it, but the latter only said that it was due to the illness Xiao Xiao had suffered from when she was younger, so it was incurable. Since Wen Yuan was a powerful cultivator though, perhaps he had a solution.
After pondering on it for a moment, Wen Yuan replied, “There’s nothing wrong with her body. As for why she has never grown in size, I have no idea. However, she might have the aptitude to cultivate.”
“Huh?” The stout woman was astounded.
The hunter outside the classroom appeared agitated.
He had a dream of becoming a cultivator when he was young, and he had taken part in the Disciple Recruitment of Water Moon Pavilion; however, he was eliminated quite early on in the process as he didn’t have the necessary aptitude.
After his dream was crushed, he returned to his hometown and became a hunter.
Upon learning from Wen Yuan that Xiao Xiao might have the aptitude to cultivate, he was naturally excited.
The reason Wen Yuan insisted on examining Xiao Xiao after already confirming that she wasn’t a Spirit was that he felt she might have an extraordinary aptitude.
Nevertheless, he wouldn’t dare to make a quick judgement when it came to this matter, so it required further examination.
Although he had already checked, he still couldn’t confirm if Xiao Xiao had an extraordinary aptitude or not. That was why he said she ‘might’ have the aptitude to become a cultivator. It was because after the examination, he realised that Xiao Xiao’s aptitude was somewhat odd. It seemed that she had an excellent aptitude, but it also felt as if she had a terrible aptitude. He had never come across such a strange situation before.
“Xiao Xiao might have the aptitude to cultivate?” The stout woman was dumbfounded.
Wen Yuan said cautiously, “I can’t make a judgement yet. Perhaps I don’t have good enough insight when it comes to such matters. En, how about I return to my Sect now and ask an Elder to come over and look into it. That way, we’ll be able to come to a conclusion.”
The next instant, he turned around and left the classroom before disappearing into the sky.
He was certainly an efficient and decisive person.
1,000 years ago, the Void Dao Temple appeared out of nowhere and sent a shockwave across all cultivators on the continent.
Before the appearance of the Void Dao Temple, the cultivators on the continent believed that the Emperor Realm was the peak of the Martial Dao. Any Sect with an Emperor Realm Master assuming command could be considered First Class. If there were two Emperor Realm Masters in charge, it could be considered a top Sect.
However, there were not a lot of Emperor Realm Masters at the time, perhaps 20 or so public figures, while those known as Third-Order Emperor Realm Masters were even rarer.
Therefore, in the past, cultivators believed that the Emperor Realm was the end of the Martial Dao, and it became every cultivator’s dream to reach this highest Realm.
Nevertheless, only those Third-Order Emperor Realm Masters had a feeling that there was an even higher Realm above the Emperor Realm. Unfortunately, regardless of how hard they tried, they were unable to spy upon the secrets above the Emperor Realm.
Suddenly, there came a day when the World Energy on the Void Continent changed drastically. No one knew why such a change took place, but all the cultivators benefited from it.
More and more people gained the aptitude to cultivate, and many more talents and geniuses were born. At the same time, there was a dramatic increase in the number of Emperor Realm Masters.
Even the cultivators who had low aptitude before seemed able to reach higher heights now.
It was a few hundred years later that the Void Dao Temple appeared out of nowhere. It wasn’t until then that the cultivators on the Void Continent realised that the Emperor Realm wasn’t the end of the Martial Dao. After reaching the peak of an Emperor Realm, one could condense a Dao Seal from their own Grand Dao, then refine the powers of Yin-Yang and Five Elements and split Heaven and Earth apart within their body to create their own Small Universe.
Doing so allowed one to reach the Open Heaven Realm!
Upon that revelation, the people who had been stuck in the Emperor Realm for a long time became excited as they yearned to ascend to the Open Heaven Realm one day.
The secret to splitting Heaven and Earth apart and creating a Small Universe in a cultivator’s body was inside the Void Dao Temple, so as long as they could step into it, they would have a chance to reach a greater height in the Martial Dao.
However, not everyone had the right to enter the Void Dao Temple. To all the cultivators on the continent, the Dao Temple was like a Holy Land, and it was very selective when it came to a cultivator’s aptitude, caring nothing for one’s Realm.
Perhaps a little girl in the Initial Element Stage, who was considered a mere newborn in cultivation, would be accepted into the Dao Temple to continue cultivating.
On the other hand, a grey-haired Third-Order Emperor Realm Master, who had been stuck in the same Realm for countless years, might not have a chance to get close to the Dao Temple regardless of how hard he tried.
Time and location didn’t matter when the Dao Temple selected cultivators. This Holy Land seemed like a self-contained world with a mind of its own, so as long as a cultivator was talented enough, he or she would be accepted into the Dao Temple by a mysterious force.
Therefore, in the early days after the Void Dao Temple appeared, the people on the continent could frequently see some cultivators being invited to the Dao Temple.
These cultivators who were accepted came from various Sects across the continent.
To the Sects that had nurtured such cultivators, the Dao Temple would reward them. The rewards were good news to the experienced Emperor Realm Masters who were unable to ascend to the Open Heaven Realm.
That was because the rewards given by the Dao Temple included the way to condense a Dao Seal and refine the Powers of the Seven Elements into them. There were also a lot of common cultivation resources that could be used by the disciples of those Sects.
1,000 years had passed, so the Sects on the continent had gotten used to the existence of the Void Dao Temple, and they had acknowledged that it was the most important place in this World.
It was every Sect’s goal to nurture a disciple who would have the right to be accepted into the Dao Temple; therefore, these Sects were fervent when it came to recruiting talented young disciples. If they could get a disciple with an extraordinary aptitude, that would be wonderful news for the entire Sect.
That was the reason Wen Yuan returned to his Sect in a hurry.
Despite being an Origin King, he was unable to identify whether Xiao Xiao had an excellent aptitude or not; therefore, he had to invite an Elder to come over and have a look.
If they could get a disciple who would be accepted by the Dao Temple, Water Moon Pavilion’s status on the continent would be greatly enhanced.
Water Moon Pavilion wasn’t a major Sect. The Sect Master, who was the most powerful among them, was only in the First-Order Emperor Realm, and the Elders were only in the Dao Source Realm.
Such a Sect would have been considered outstanding 1,000 years ago, but it was too mediocre these days.
It was 800 years ago when the last disciple from Water Moon Pavilion was invited to the Void Dao Temple, and the massive amount of cultivation resources given to them as a reward hugely benefited the disciples of Water Moon Pavilion. The leaders of the Sect still couldn’t forget about that time.
Over the years, they had been trying to take on disciples with amazing aptitude, but their attempts so far had been futile.
After Wen Yuan was gone, the hunter named Zhang Gen wouldn’t dare to stick around. Embarrassed, he ran away as the stout woman cursed at him. The stout woman’s Husband wanted to humiliate Zhang Gen, so he shot an arrow at the latter as he was running away. The arrow skirted past Zhang Gen, which caused him to scream and tumble to the ground.
The people behind him laughed at him.
It wasn’t until this moment that the teacher, who had been lying on the chair with a book covering his eyes, awakened. When he saw so many people outside the classroom, he asked Xiao Xiao in puzzlement, “What are they doing here? What happened?”
An exasperated Xiao Xiao glowered at the teacher, “You should just keep sleeping, sir.”
The teacher scratched his head while appearing perplexed.
The cultivators from Water Moon Pavilion were quick, probably because taking on disciples was an important matter to them. Wen Yuan soon returned to Water Moon Pavilion and found the Elder closest to him. Upon learning what was going on, the Elder rushed over to the village.
Only one hour had passed since Wen Yuan left the village; therefore, when Xiao Xiao was done having her breakfast and was ready to follow her Father to go hunting, two figures descended from the sky and landed in front of their door.
One of them was Wen Yuan, and the other was an amiable-looking elderly man whose face radiated a healthy glow.
“Is it this child?” The old man saw Xiao Xiao the moment he landed on the ground.
Wen Yuan nodded, “Yes, it’s her.”
With a curious look, the Elder said, “Even you were unable to see through her aptitude, so there might be something special about this girl. I’ll have a look.”
Wen Yuan glanced at the hunter and the stout woman, then said, “This is an Elder from Water Moon Pavilion. I invited him to come over and take a look at Xiao Xiao’s aptitude. Please rest assured that she won’t be harmed in any way.”
The hunter nodded gently, “Many thanks for the effort.”
Upon getting the hunter’s permission, the Elder said to Xiao Xiao, “Little girl, show me your hand.”
Wen Yuan had done the same thing to her before, so Xiao Xiao directly extended her hand.
The old man stuck out two fingers and felt her pulse. As he ran his fingers through his beard, he focused on examining her.
A moment later, he opened his eyes and gazed at Xiao Xiao, “Little girl, are you willing to join Water Moon Pavilion?”
Xiao Xiao directly shook her head, “No.”
The old man was surprised. He initially thought that since he had said so, the little girl would readily accept his invitation; after all, most mortals yearned to be cultivators.
It never crossed his mind that the young girl would directly turn him down.
This had never happened to him before.
Nevertheless, she was just a young child who didn’t know the benefits of becoming a cultivator, so after giving it a thought, he asked, “Why don’t you want to join our Sect?”
Xiao Xiao turned to look at the couple, “I want to be with my Father and Mother. I don’t want to leave them.”
Upon hearing that, the couple felt warmth in their hearts.
The Elder nodded gently, “I see. However, you’ll grow up one day. It’s not possible that you can stay with your parents forever.”
Xiao Xiao tilted her head, “I don’t want to grow up, then. That way, I won’t be separated from my Father and Mother.”
The couple felt their hearts melting, thinking that they had no more regrets in life by having such a Daughter.
The Elder broke into laughter and thought that this child was indeed innocent.
Regardless, he kept persuading her by saying, “How are you going to provide for your parents when they grow old if you don’t want to grow up?”
“I can go hunting!” Xiao Xiao lifted the petite bow in her hand. It was specifically made for her by the hunter.
The old man shook his head, “You might fall into danger one day by frequently wandering around on the mountain; moreover, the amount of prey on the mountain is not infinite. However, if you can cultivate, you won’t have to hunt with a bow and arrows. You can easily capture prey by using a Secret Technique. When you’re able to fly, you can go around the continent and take in different views. You’ll have a brighter future that way. Isn’t that better than if you stay in this village?”
There was no doubt that his reasons were sound, but Xiao Xiao still shook her head.
The Elder wasn’t in a rush. Although he was speaking to Xiao Xiao, he knew that her parents would be the ones who would make a decision. Despite the little girl’s lack of interest in cultivation, it was apparent that her parents were tempted.
As parents, they certainly wanted the best for their child’s future. The right to cultivate was the best gift anyone on the Void Continent could have.
Therefore, he wasn’t only reasoning with Xiao Xiao but also her parents. He believed that the couple would make the right choice.
He decided to stop persuading her and passed her something, “Take this. When you decide to start cultivating one day, you can burn it. Someone will come over to pick you up.”
Upon finishing his words, he turned around and left.
Wen Yuan cupped his fist at the couple, then left with the Elder.
After leaving the village, Wen Yuan asked, “Elder, does the child really have an extraordinary aptitude?”
The Elder shook his head, “It’s embarrassing to admit, but I can’t see through her either.”
Wen Yuan was astounded, “You can’t see through her aptitude?” Then, he asked in puzzlement, “In that case, why did you decide to take her on?”
The Elder chuckled, “That’s exactly the reason I have to recruit her. Since we can’t see it through, we can only let her prove her worth. If her aptitude is truly excellent, we’ll gain a gifted disciple. However, if her aptitude is terrible, we won’t lose anything but a few resources.”
Upon hearing his reason, Wen Yuan replied, “You’re indeed intelligent, Elder.”
He was still in a dilemma over the little girl’s aptitude, but the Elder had already come up with a solution. Regardless of whether the young girl had an amazing aptitude or not, they just had to accept her into their Sect. They would find out the truth in the future.
As long as she was a part of Water Moon Pavilion, her aptitude would no longer matter.
After the Elder and Wen Yuan were gone, Xiao Xiao looked down at the thing in her hand. It was an incense stick that didn’t look special at all, but it was significantly shorter than the commonly seen incense sticks as it was only as long as an adult’s finger. Moreover, it seemed that half of it had been burned.
[Only half of it is left. That old man is stingy. How could he give me something that someone else had used before?]
Xiao Xiao eventually decided to join Water Moon Pavilion.
She wasn’t willing to part ways with her parents, but a conversation with her Father changed her mind.
When she became a successful cultivator who could fly freely through the sky, not only could she take in all the different sights of the continent, but she would also be able to enjoy all kinds of rare delicacies from all over the world.
Her Father had explored different parts of the world when he was young, and his descriptions of the food that Xiao Xiao had never heard of before were very tempting to her.
She was unable to resist enjoying delicious food.
Therefore, she decided to become a part of Water Moon Pavilion in the end. Her thinking was simple; she just had to cultivate in the Sect for several years and come back. By then, she wouldn’t have to be separated from her parents again. Furthermore, when she became a successful cultivator, she could bring her parents to different places and buy them delicious food.
Despite being reluctant to part ways with Xiao Xiao, the couple kept their emotions to themselves as they wanted the best for their child’s future.
The incense stick, with only half of it left, was lit, and soon, Wen Yuan rushed over from Water Moon Pavilion and picked Xiao Xiao up.
Watching the petite figure, who had stayed with them for the past 10 years, leave, the stout woman squatted and broke into tears. The hunter came over to console her, but his eyes had reddened as well.
Standing in front of the school, Yang Kai felt somewhat speechless as he looked up.
If Xiao Xiao wanted to cultivate, he could have taught her; however, considering the fact that the Old Ancestor was here to recuperate, it would be good to let her live freely to experience the Bustling World as a mortal would. Therefore, Yang Kai had never thought about teaching Xiao Xiao how to cultivate.
It never crossed his mind that those from Water Moon Pavilion would have a hand in this.
He didn’t find it appropriate to interfere though, so he decided to watch in silence.
Nevertheless, Yang Kai was certain that Xiao Xiao’s future performance would shock those from Water Moon Pavilion.
She was an Old Ancestor, after all. Although she had sealed off her memory, her aptitude in cultivation could never be concealed. Wen Yuan and the Elder couldn’t see it through because their vision was simply too limited to understand what they were seeing.
The secrets within the Old Ancestor’s body were far beyond what they could comprehend.
Those from Water Moon Pavilion were unable to judge if Xiao Xiao had an extraordinary aptitude; therefore, even though Wen Yuan had invited her to the Sect, he just let her cultivate along with the other new disciples with no special treatment for her.
These new disciples ranged from 7 to 10 years old, so Xiao Xiao seemed to be the youngest as she looked like she was only 3 years old.
Xiao Xiao suffered a huge setback at the start of her cultivation journey, but it had nothing to do with her aptitude.
Since she was a child, she had never been separated from her parents; therefore, she wasn’t used to it as her parents were no longer by her side. Water Moon Pavilion was far away from her village, so whenever she thought about her parents at night, she would secretly weep.
This kind of melancholy stayed with her for an entire month.
Although Yang Kai could easily settle this issue, he decided to sit back and watch.
That was because he had discovered something interesting. Xiao Xiao, who had never grown in size for the past 10 years, grew a little three days after she arrived at Water Moon Pavilion.
The growth was so negligible that even her parents wouldn’t have noticed it, but it wasn’t hard for Yang Kai to.
The revelation allowed him to relax.
Based on his previous observation, the reason the Old Ancestor hadn’t changed one bit over the years was that her injury was too severe. Her body was currently using all its power to treat her wounds, which was the reason she never grew bigger.
Once she started growing, that would mean that she was truly starting to recover.
Therefore, the moment Yang Kai noticed this, he knew that the Old Ancestor was fine and it was just a matter of time before she would fully recover.
This kind of change couldn’t just be a coincidence; otherwise, it wouldn’t have happened at this exact moment.
Initially, Yang Kai thought that it was because the Old Ancestor had been living in the village for far too long, but after an investigation, he realised it wasn’t the case.
This kind of change had nothing to do with where she lived, be it the village or Water Moon Pavilion, it had to do with her emotions.
After leaving her parents and the village she had lived in for the past 10 years, she was overwhelmed by a myriad of new emotions. That was the reason that prompted her to start growing.
Parting with one’s loved ones was something everyone in the Bustling World had to experience.
Yang Kai had never expected that such a change would take place after Xiao Xiao joined Water Moon Pavilion, but it seemed that he was right to refrain from interfering in this matter.
Now, it seemed that it would be useful to the Old Ancestor’s recuperation to let her experience more of life.
Xiao Xiao went on to be dejected for a month, but at the same time, she started showing her remarkable aptitude in cultivation.
In just half a month, she had successfully sensed World Energy and drawn it into her body. Since then, she had set off on the Martial Dao and was now a budding cultivator.
Wen Yuan, who had been secretly observing her, was thrilled and promptly told the Elder about it.
The Elder was a much calmer person and simply told Wen Yuan to keep observing Xiao Xiao. They would only make a decision based on her future performance.
Two months later, Xiao Xiao successfully achieved a breakthrough and ascended to the Initial Element Stage.
After another two months, she made it to the Qi Transformation Stage.
Another two months later, she ascended to the Separation and Reunion Stage.
In just one year, she had broken through several Great Realms. Her cultivation grew from zero to the Immortal Ascension Boundary at an unimaginable speed.
This kind of cultivation speed was unheard of on the entire Void Continent, let alone the small Water Moon Pavilion. No prodigy in history had ever achieved several breakthroughs in such a short period of time.
This was indeed unusual.
The leaders of Water Moon Pavilion were ecstatic. The Sect Master and the Elders pinned all their hopes on Xiao Xiao, thinking that she would be accepted by the Dao Temple and continue cultivating there soon; that way, Water Moon Pavilion’s reputation would soar.
However, Xiao Xiao seemed to have used up her potential after her first year.
For the next three years, her cultivation didn’t improve one bit.
The leaders of Water Moon Pavilion, who had high hopes for her, were naturally disappointed. Although they had done their best to solve this issue, their attempts were futile.
Four years after Xiao Xiao joined Water Moon Pavilion, she was allowed to visit her parents.
In the past four years, she was never allowed to leave Water Moon Pavilion.
This couldn’t be helped, as her initial performance was too astonishing. The leaders of Water Moon Pavilion made sure to hide her from public view as they were worried that the larger Sects would snatch her from them. Such incidents had happened before. Even though the smaller Sects could sometimes find talented disciples, they couldn’t always keep them.
Xiao Xiao’s initial performance was too Heaven-defying, so it was expected that the leaders of Water Moon Pavilion had to keep her a secret.
It wasn’t until they confirmed that her potential had been used up that they allowed her to return to her little village.
After leaving the Sect she had stayed for the past four years, Xiao Xiao rushed over to the village as she couldn’t wait to go home.
When she returned to the familiar village and pushed the door of her home open, she saw the stout woman, who was handling the prey in the yard.
In an instant, Xiao Xiao’s eyes were soaked in tears.
Noticing her presence, the stout woman looked up and saw her Daughter standing at the door. Pleasantly surprised, she turned her head and shouted, “Darling! Xiao Xiao is back!”
The next instant, Xiao Xiao crashed into the stout woman’s arms and hugged her tightly.
Upon hearing the noises, the hunter left the house and saw this heartwarming scene.
All three of them were celebrated that night. A pot of broth was made from the prey the hunter had caught that day, and they enjoyed their meal together. The hunter chugged down the wine that Xiao Xiao had brought back from Water Moon Pavilion and soon became intoxicated.
Since Xiao Xiao was now a disciple of Water Moon Pavilion, she would never get rid of this identity; however, she was no longer treasured by the leaders of the Sect. Moreover, she was currently just in the Immortal Ascension Boundary, so the leaders didn’t bother trying to restrain her. Furthermore, given the uniqueness of her appearance, they had never given her any missions for the Sect.
Although she had started growing in size since she became a part of Water Moon Pavilion, only four years had passed.
Presently, she only looked like she was seven or eight years old.
It wasn’t like they could expect such a child to carry out any important tasks; therefore, even though Xiao Xiao was still a disciple of Water Moon Pavilion on paper, she could stay in this village for as long as she wanted, and no one would criticize her for that.
This was exactly what she had always wanted.
The reason she even agreed to join Water Moon Pavilion back then was that she was a filial child. What she really yearned for was to stay by her parents’ side.
After helping her drunk parents to the bedroom that night, Xiao Xiao didn’t immediately think to rest.
Instead, she headed to the mountain and arrived at the log house where the hunter had picked her up in the past.
Although more than 10 years had passed, the log house had always remained there. Many hunters would rest here whenever they went hunting on the mountain.
Xiao Xiao set up a barrier around the log house before she entered it and started cultivating.
She had been hiding a secret from the leaders of Water Moon Pavilion; she wasn’t really in the Immortal Ascension Boundary, but instead the Origin King Realm!
Furthermore, her potential still hadn’t been used up.
The reason she was able to pretend to only be in the Immortal Ascension Boundary and have used up her potential in front of the leaders of Water Moon Pavilion was that she accidentally obtained a certain technique in the Scripture Pavilion of the Sect.
In the first year after she joined the Sect, her performance was astounding, and it was then she realised that the more astonishing her performance was, the more unlikely she could leave the Sect. Before Xiao Xiao was accepted into the Void Dao Temple, those from Water Moon Pavilion would never allow her to leave. Once she entered the legendary Void Dao Temple, she would never have a chance to return to the village.
Therefore, she thought that it would be wonderful if there was a Secret Art that could help her conceal her cultivation.
That was the reason she headed to the Scripture Pavilion, where she had really found such a Secret Art.
She secretly memorised the Secret Art and started cultivating it. What surprised her was that it was extremely effective.
Since she started cultivating that Secret Art, even the Sect Master and Elders of Water Moon Pavilion were unable to find out the truth. All of them thought that she was still in the Immortal Ascension Boundary when in fact, her cultivation had never stopped improving. Instead, it increased significantly day by day.
It never crossed Xiao Xiao’s mind that the Secret Art she had discovered would be so amazing.
She headed to the Scripture Pavilion again to look for it, but she could no longer find the Secret Art. It was as though the Secret Art had appeared at that point just to grant her wish, and then disappeared.
After concealing her cultivation for years, she finally achieved her goal and returned to the village.
Xiao Xiao decided that she would never leave her parents again.
Since her return, the couple had never asked her anything about cultivation. Four years of separation didn’t make them feel distant from each other; instead, their bond had become even stronger.
However, the couple could sense that Xiao Xiao was already different from the past.
The most noticeable change was that she would frequently disappear for one or two hours, and when she returned, she would bring back a lot of delicious food. Whenever they went hunting, she could always detect the prey before everyone else did.
And so, the days went by peacefully.
As time passed, Xiao Xiao grew into a young woman, and the homespun clothes she was usually seen wearing could never conceal her stunning beauty.
People from neighbouring villages would come over and propose marriage to her all the time; however, Xiao Xiao would always sweep them out of her house.
Initially, the hunter and his wife would watch it with pleasure, thinking that those rough brats didn’t deserve to marry their Daughter. It served them right that they were beaten up.
Nevertheless, as Xiao Xiao grew older, they couldn’t help but start worrying.
When they picked up Xiao Xiao from the log house on the mountain, they were already in their forties. In the first 10 years, Xiao Xiao never grew in size. It wasn’t until she became a disciple of Water Moon Pavilion that she started growing.
Now, she looked like she was in her early twenties, but it had been about 30 years since the hunter first picked her up back then.
Presently, the couple was already in their seventies.
There was no doubt that they were pretty old now. Although the mortals on the Void Continent who had never cultivated before could easily live up to 100 years old, there would inevitably come a time when the couple passed away.
After they were gone, Xiao Xiao would be left alone. Wouldn’t she feel lonely when she had no one else to rely on?
Therefore, despite their reluctance, the couple still hoped that their daughter would get married soon. They had talked to her about it on several occasions, but she would always dismiss it with a smile, stating that she didn’t intend to get married. She just wanted to keep her parents company until they passed away.
The couple was gratified, and they decided to stop bringing this up.
Although Xiao Xiao had never shown them any moves usually used by the cultivators, the couple knew that, since her return from Water Moon Pavilion, she was no longer a normal mortal. She was as exquisite as a phoenix now.
Certainly, those brats from neighbouring villages shouldn’t even dream about marrying her. Even if their Daughter wanted to look for a husband, only a successful cultivator would be worthy of her.
The students in the classroom came and went, but the teacher remained the same.
Xiao Xiao would frequently visit the teacher and bring him some delicious dishes she had acquired from who knows where. She never forgot that when she was younger, the teacher would always bring her delicious treats that she had never heard of out of nowhere and give them to her.
Now that she was a fairly powerful cultivator who could fly around freely, she decided to repay his favour.
However, there was one thing that made her feel puzzled.
Many years had passed, but the teacher didn’t seem to have changed at all. He was just as young as when he arrived at this village 30 years ago.
Xiao Xiao suspected that he was also a cultivator, but even after secretly inspecting him, she couldn’t discover anything. While feeling perplexed, she speculated that the teacher was just someone who aged slower than normal.
On the other hand, her parents had clearly grown old as time passed.
She had tried to collect some Spirit Herbs that could lengthen their lives; nevertheless, she knew that, as mortals, there would come a day when they passed away. Therefore, she valued the time she got to spend with her parents dearly and felt content with each passing day.
As Yang Kai watched everything, he couldn’t help but feel deeply moved.
Xiao Xiao, who was actually the Old Ancestor, had set off on her cultivation journey in this new life, but she had never forgotten about the hunter and his wife who had raised her. In fact, she did everything she could to break free from Water Moon Pavilion’s restraints and return to the couple.
Rarely would cultivators do this.
To cultivators, once they embarked on the Martial Dao, their biggest goal became walking further on it. Familial bonds, friendship, and love all came second.
However, Xiao Xiao was different. Family had always been of utmost importance to her, and everything she had been doing was intended to bring her closer to her family.
Naturally, it was Yang Kai who put the Secret Art that Xiao Xiao ‘accidentally’ discovered in Water Moon Pavilion. In truth, the Secret Art wasn’t really that effective. It was just that Yang Kai made a move in secret to ensure that those from Water Moon Pavilion wouldn’t notice the changes in Xiao Xiao’s cultivation. It wasn’t hard for him to achieve such a thing in his own Small Universe.
Usually, he wouldn’t have a hand in Xiao Xiao’s life experiences. However, since she had shown such an intention, he definitely had to satisfy her needs.
After she returned to the village, Xiao Xiao grew even faster, which showed that the Old Ancestor was truly recovering.
Now, Xiao Xiao was a young woman who didn’t look different from the Old Ancestor, it was just that her temperament was different.
The Xiao Xiao in Yang Kai’s Small Universe was innocent and inexperienced, unlike the Old Ancestor who had gone through the vicissitudes of life.
Yang Kai supposed it was the reason she had sealed off her memory.
This life was the catalyst in helping her recuperate.
While everything was going well for the Old Ancestor, the East-West Army in the outside world never gave up on attacking the Royal City.
Half a year ago, the East-West Army launched its third attack on the Royal City.
After several years of accumulation, the East-West Army had mined a lot of resources; however, before Liu Zhi Ping could put those resources to good use, they were all swiped by Xiang Shan and sent to the Artifact Refiners and Array Masters to arrange arrays.
This time, the East-West Army had set up more than 10 Universe Worlds, which consumed all of the resources they had accumulated over the years.
Liu Zhi Ping was speechless. She finally realised that Xiang Shan didn’t care whatsoever about numbers as all he saw was the Royal City. Regardless of how many resources there were, he would squander them away in a short time.
If she hadn’t intercepted some of the resources, the soldiers in the East-West Army wouldn’t have anything left to cultivate with after the battle ended.
Even without the portion she reserved though, the materials they had collected over the years were still enough for the East-West Army to prepare more than 10 Universe Worlds.
Things were not so different from when they launched an attack on the Royal City for the second time back then.
The East-West Army, which had remained dormant for several years, suddenly mobilized, their Warships rising into the air and inching closer to the Royal City.
Although the Territory Lords had experienced this before and expected it to happen again, they were still both shocked and furious when they saw it playing out just as before.
They were also astonished that the Humans could launch an attack again so soon. They knew that the Humans had been mining many Universe Worlds over the years, so it was apparent that the latter didn’t have sufficient resources. They initially thought that it would take at least 10 to 20 years for them to gather enough to launch another assault, so the Royal City would enjoy some peace for a while.
Nevertheless, it had only been 5 years since the last time the Humans attacked the Royal City.
They were furious because the Humans were so haughty that they didn’t even change their tactics at all. Things were going just like what had happened previously.
The Humans were basically telling them that they would attack the Royal City from the left side while the Universe Worlds would fly at them from the right side. Now, the ball was in the Black Ink Clan’s court.
But what else could the Black Ink Clan do? Just like what happened previously, they had to split their forces to defend both sides.
30% of them would form up on the right flank to ward off the incoming Universe Worlds while 70% of them would remain on the left to prevent the Humans from invading their city.
Nothing had changed. It was as though they had gone back to five years ago.
Since they were well prepared, the Territory Lords on the right side of the Royal City could detect the Universe Worlds sooner than the last time.
In the meantime, the East-West Army reached a place that was only 10 million kilometres away from the Royal City. The timing was precise as the Humans managed to make sure that the Black Ink Clan would be distracted.
The Black Ink Clansmen on the right flank started sending out attacks towards the Universe Worlds, which had travelled a great distance through the void and were coming right at the Royal City.
Black Ink Strength dyed the void dark as the lights of Secret Techniques cast by the Black Ink Disciples expanded.
The Universe Worlds were subsequently shattered, but every Universe World was full of arrays, and the universe fragments scattered around as the arrays were activated. At that instant, the void on the right side of the Royal City was filled with bright colours, as though fireworks had been set off.
Beneath the facade of this magnificent view, more and more Black Ink Clansmen, who did their best to intercept the Universe Worlds, lost their lives.
30% of the Black Ink Clansmen and their subordinates were on the right side, including more than 10 Territory Lords, twice that number of Eighth-Order Black Ink Disciples, and even more Feudal Lords. However, the moment they clashed with the Universe Worlds, they were unable to fully fend them off regardless of how hard they tried.
There were even more Universe Worlds this time than previously, and as the powers of those strange arrays exploded, the Black Ink Clansmen were caught off guard.
The most powerful Black Ink Clansmen were unable to stop the Universe Worlds alone, so they could only order the weaker Black Ink Clansmen to block them.
Previously, there was a universe fragment that struck the Royal City, which caused the Royal Lord’s healing to be disturbed. Faced with the latter’s burning fury, the Black Ink Clansmen were horrified.
None of them were willing to experience the Royal Lord’s wrath again, so they would rather sacrifice their lives than fail this time.
Countless Black Ink Clansmen charged forward like moths to a flame and somehow managed to intercept those universe fragments. The Territory Lords roared while the Eighth-Order Black Ink Disciples went all out.
Compared to their comrades on the right side, the Black Ink Clansmen on the left side were rather safe at this moment.
All of them were glaring at the Humans who were inching closer to the Royal City in their Warships. As they listened to their clansmen groan and shriek before their deaths, they felt truly vexed.
Undoubtedly, Che Kong was the most furious of them all.
He had suffered a setback previously. Initially, he thought that the Humans would seize the chance and launch an attack, but surprisingly, the Humans only launched one barrage from a safe distance and then ran away. The Black Ink Clansmen didn’t even manage to counterattack at all.
This was undoubtedly the most vexing situation on the battlefield when one was hit, but could not hit back.
Therefore, Che Kong decided that they would make a move before the Humans did this time.
As long as the Human Warships were close enough, the Black Ink Clan would launch a series of attacks and make them pay the price for what had happened previously.
Both parties were less than 10 million kilometres apart, so the Territory Lords and the Eighth-Order Open Heaven Realm Masters were already able to make a move, but that wasn’t enough. The Territory Lords and the Eighth-Order Open Heaven Realm Masters were both the pillars of strength on their respective sides, but although they were powerful, there were not a lot of them.
Therefore, they had to wait for the Humans to come to a place that was only 5 million kilometres away so that the Feudal Lords could make a move as well and retaliate against the Humans.
[They’re getting closer!]
Che Kong’s order was on the tip of his tongue. As soon as the Humans moved forward for another million kilometres, he would teach them a lesson.
Just then though, the Human Warships abruptly stopped and started withdrawing. They were so swift that they had moved backwards a million kilometres in the blink of an eye, and the next instant, they were already 10 million kilometres away.
Che Kong widened his eyes in disbelief. He was so enraged that he almost spat blood, but he had no way to vent his fury.
He felt as if he had gotten ready by lifting a hammer, but his target had run away all of a sudden before he could swing it down.
“Bastards! I’ll kill all of you!”
Che Kong’s angry roar reverberated across the entire void.
Certainly, the Territory Lords were furious at the Humans’ despicable moves.
They couldn’t help but wonder if they had made the wrong decision by hunkering down in the Royal City and defending it at all costs.
The Black Ink Clan, who could do nothing but defend, were like beasts without fangs as they posed no threat to the Humans. Even though the Humans had set up a base right at their doorstep, they were unable to do anything.
If they were able to launch an attack, they wouldn’t allow the haughty Humans to come and go as they pleased; however, such an idea only remained in some of the Territory Lords’ heads as they wouldn’t dare to say it out loud. After all, it was the Royal Lord’s order that they should do their best to defend the Royal City before he fell into a state of deep sleep.
Regardless, the Territory Lords were relieved that the Humans didn’t manage to disturb the Royal Lord this time.
Although there were even more Universe Worlds this time than previously that came at the right side of the Royal City, they were all intercepted and shattered as the Black Ink Clansmen did their best to block them regardless of their losses.
Hence, no damage was caused to the Royal City.
Nevertheless, the price they had to pay was that there were even more casualties than the previous time.
This was unavoidable. Compared to disturbing the Royal Lord, the Territory Lords would rather let more of their subordinates die.
However, after the same thing happened twice, the Black Ink Clan finally figured out the Humans’ plan.
With the help of those Universe Worlds, the Humans could cause damage to the Black Ink Clan without suffering any losses on their side. After these two attacks in recent years, the Black Ink Clan had lost about 100,000 soldiers.
If the same thing kept on happening, there would come a day when all 1 million Black Ink Clan soldiers would be gone. By then, how were they going to ward off the Humans? Could the Territory Lords and Eighth-Order Black Ink Disciples do it all on their own?
Although they were powerful, the Humans had Eighth-Order Open Heaven Realm Masters of roughly the same number.
As this dragged on, the Black Ink Clan would be in an increasingly disadvantageous position.
Now, they could only pin their hopes on the Royal Lord, who was recuperating. As long as he could recover before the Human Old Ancestor did, they would be able to turn things around. It would be wonderful if those at Great Evolution Pass could come over and lend them a hand. By then, they could pincer the Humans and make sure the latter had nowhere to run.
After the third time the Humans made use of the Universe Worlds to attack the Royal City, they would do the same thing every few years.
However, generally speaking, the intervals were getting longer.
The third attack was five years apart from the second time, but the fourth attack was seven years after the third. As for the fifth, it was ten years after the fourth.
This situation was totally understandable.
Although there were countless Universe Worlds in the void, only a small number of them were suited to cover in arrays and attack the Royal City. After all, the size of the Universe Worlds mattered.
If they were too big, it would require too many resources to arrange the arrays, but if they were too small, they wouldn’t pose a threat to the Black Ink Clan.
An appropriate size was what the Humans were looking for in Universe Worlds.
While it took time to look for suitable Universe Worlds, it was equally time-consuming to extract enough materials to carry out such a resource-intensive plan. Since all the Universe Worlds nearby were already fully mined out, the Humans had to venture further afield.
That was why the intervals were getting longer.
Nevertheless, the leaders of the East-West Army were set on repeatedly using this tactic. Over the last 20 years since they established a forward base at the Black Ink Clan’s doorstep, they had launched four major attacks on the Royal City.
The East-West Army had never suffered from any losses as they had never directly engaged the Black Ink Clan. Following Xiang Shan’s order, their Warships would set sail and creep closer to the Royal City before rapidly retreating.
They would always gain a massive victory every time by using this tactic.
They had spent countless resources by attacking the Royal City with Universe Worlds five times, but for their troubles, they had managed to kill about 300,000 Black Ink Clansmen, including a significant number of Feudal Lords and Seventh-Order Black Ink Disciples.
None of the Territory Lords and the Eighth-Order Black Ink Disciple were killed; however, they were exhausted from having to deal with the Universe Worlds that were meant to harass them.
Despite the losses, from the looks of it, there were still about 1 million Black Ink Clansmen around the Royal City, as though there hadn’t been a decrease in their number at all.
Nonetheless, their collective power had clearly been weakened.
Initially, the Black Ink Clan soldiers that had gathered together outside the Royal City were the best subordinates of the Territory Lords. After they were killed, they were replaced by the significantly weaker Low-Rank Black Ink Clansmen. Such Black Ink Clansmen were basically of no use on the battlefield, though they could make the Army look intimidating to the enemy.
20 to 30 years had passed in the outside world, so as the four seasons alternated, some 100 years had passed in the Small Universe.
The mountain village remained the same, and although it had grown slightly larger, it was still considered a small village in a remote place.
Just like their ancestors, the hunters in the village earned a living by hunting. Before the old hunters passed away, they would give their bows to the next generation. Such inheritance was passed down over the generations.
In a certain yard, a family of three were having a good time together.
100 years had passed, so the hunter and his wife were old and frail now.
Both of them were about 150 years old. They enjoyed a pretty long life considering the fact that they were ordinary mortals who had never cultivated before.
In comparison to her youth, the stout woman had become debilitated. Perhaps she had worried too much about many things when she was young, so she was no longer as stocky as she used to be. Although she was still tall, she was extremely skinny. Her skin was dull, and her eyes were turbid.
On the other hand, the hunter was slightly more energetic, but his hair was all grey.
They were seated on a chair together as they basked in the afternoon sun, its warm light allowing them to feel at ease.
Xiao Xiao squatted in front of them as she took their hands and listened to the hunter talk about trivial things, keeping a smile on her face.
The hunter talked about a lot of things, including his experiences around the continent when he was younger and the dangers he faced on the mountain since his return to the village; however, most of the time, he reminisced about what happened after he picked up Xiao Xiao. He recalled the time when Xiao Xiao finally regained consciousness and the first time she called him ‘Father’. He also remembered the first time he went hunting with her on the mountain.
It was as though he was trying to recount all his encounters in his life. As he did that, he was filled with a sense of fulfilment.
Xiao Xiao just listened to him in silence, the smile on her face never fading.
The stout woman was initially in a dazed state, but she suddenly shook a little and landed a slap on the hunter’s thigh and yelled, “It’s getting late! Tell Xiao Xiao to come back and have dinner now!”
Upon impact, the hunter grimaced in pain. Although his Wife was no longer as strong as when she was young, her slap was still powerful. For all his life, he had been hit by his wife countless times.
Xiao Xiao turned to look at her, “I’m here, Mother.”
Upon hearing that, the stout woman lowered her head. After becoming startled for a moment, she asked with a smile, “Why are you all grown up all of a sudden, Xiao Xiao?”
Xiao Xiao replied, “I’ve grown up because I’ve eaten a lot of delicious food, Mother.”
The stout woman nodded, “You’re right. I’m glad that you’re all grown up. It’s not like you wouldn’t grow up forever. I’m really pleased.”
10 years ago, the stout woman started becoming confused. Perhaps this was a common illness that most old people would suffer from.
Despite that, she was still concerned that Xiao Xiao just wouldn’t grow bigger, though it was something that had happened over 100 years ago.
Perhaps this was the thing she was most concerned about and afraid of, so she had never forgotten about it.
After the stout woman muttered under her breath for a bit, her turbid eyes brightened all of a sudden. With her mind clearing up, she looked down at the woman before her eyes and called out gently, “Xiao Xiao?”
She would always call her Xiao Xiao when the latter was still a young child.
“Mother,” Xiao Xiao stuck her face close to the stout woman’s hand. As she rubbed her delicate face against her Mother’s rough hand, she felt heartbroken.
“You’re a grown woman now, Xiao Xiao,” the stout woman said gently.
Xiao Xiao nodded in response.
“You have to take good care of yourself,” the stout woman advised.
“Don’t worry, Mother. I’ll take good care of myself,” Xiao Xiao repeatedly nodded.
“If you find someone you love, don’t hesitate to marry him. A woman will never be complete without a family of her own.”
“I’ll remember.”
“I know you’re an obedient child,” the stout woman appeared gratified, “I’m a little tired, so I’ll get some rest now.”
Xiao Xiao lifted her head, “I’ll sing you a song.”
“Alright,” the stout woman bowed her head with a smile.
It was then Xiao Xiao started humming a song. It was a lullaby her Mother would always sing to her at night when she was a child.
By the time she was done humming the lullaby, the stout woman had closed her eyes as her head rested on the hunter’s shoulder. Although she was sound asleep, she kept a faint smile on her face.
The hunter let out a breath and said in a small voice, “Your Mother has told you everything you need to know. You’re a grown woman now, so there’s no more advice I can give you. However, there’s one thing I want you to do. This village is too small, so go out and have a look. We have held you up for far too long, so it’s time you leave this place and explore the world.”
Xiao Xiao repeatedly shook her head, “Nothing could make me happier other than being your child.”
The hunter put on a happy smile, “Since you’ve said so, I have no more worries.”
A moment later, he went on to say gently, “Although your Mother is strong, she’s most afraid of being alone. I’ll keep her company. Go do your own things.”
Then, he extended his hand and hugged his life-long partner tightly. After snuggling up to her, he closed his eyes as well.
Xiao Xiao stared fixedly at them. Although her heart ached terribly, there was nothing she could do.
She was now in the Emperor Realm. Others might not be able to notice it, but as an Emperor Realm Master, she could see that vitality was rapidly leaving her parents.
Although she had given them a lot of foods and tonics that could lengthen their lives over the years, they were still just ordinary mortals. There would come a day when they reached the end of their lives, and no one could change that.
It was thanks to her efforts that they managed to live up to 150 years old. If not for the fact that she had given them countless precious herbs and elixirs, they would have passed away when they were just past 100 years old.
A moment later, Xiao Xiao heard footsteps approaching her from behind.
She turned around as her tears slid down her face. While sobbing, she said to the person, “Sir, my parents are gone!”
Yang Kai nodded and walked up to her, “They’ve passed away peacefully. They have no more worries in life.”
The next instant, Xiao Xiao crashed into his arms and started bawling her eyes out, “I no longer have parents!”
Patting her back, Yang Kai placated her by saying, “You had your parents, and that’s enough.”
With Yang Kai’s help, Xiao Xiao set up a funeral in her home. The hunters from the village came over and offered their condolences.
Three days later, there was a new tomb on the mountain.
Xiao Xiao knelt in front of the tomb as she was engulfed in a sense of melancholy. Her parents passed away peacefully. They had been a married couple for a long time, and they were buried in the same tomb. It could be said that they had been happier than most commoners in the world.
Regardless, they were gone.
Right then, an anomaly took place in the sky.
Yang Kai, who had been standing behind Xiao Xiao, looked up. As the owner of this Small Universe, he was acutely aware of all the changes going on in this World.
In front of the tomb, Xiao Xiao pressed her head against the ground three times to bid her parents a final farewell.
When she got to her feet, all the Bustling World Essence in the Small Universe streamed into her from all directions where she fully absorbed it.
In just 10 breaths of time, her aura changed drastically.
Yang Kai felt that his Small Universe was slightly shaking, which prompted his expression to turn solemn.
One had to know that his Small Universe had been spread out; moreover, with the presence of the World Tree’s clone, it was unlikely that his Small Universe would be impacted in any way, unless it was struck by a force that was significantly more powerful than his limits.
Fortunately, the tremor soon subsided.
Yang Kai cupped his fist and said solemnly, “Welcome back, Old Ancestor!”
Xiao Xiao remained unmoving. As she stared fixedly at the tomb, she spoke, “For all my life, it’s been smooth sailing since I started cultivating. I had my Honoured Master’s protection, and my Fellow Sisters and Brothers all took good care of me. My cultivation improved significantly day by day. From no cultivation, I ascended to the Emperor Realm, Open Heaven Realm, and eventually became an Old Ancestor. Others might not attain such achievements for all their lives, but to me, they were easy to come by.”
Yang Kai couldn’t help but think that the Old Ancestor was indeed confident of her abilities.
She went on to say, “However, there has always been a regret in my heart. Before I joined Yin-Yang Cave Heaven, I was an orphan who never knew my parents before. I didn’t know who or where they were, so I never got to spend time with them. This life is an experience I’ve never had before. It’s embarrassing of me to have taken advantage of this situation to live out that dream, but I have to thank you for that.”
Yang Kai promptly said that he didn’t deserve her gratitude.
Nevertheless, it was only then that he realised why the Old Ancestor had instinctively stopped him from concealing her whereabouts even though she had sealed off her memory.
She must have sensed something the moment the hunter approached her.
Her biggest regret was that she never got to spend time with her parents. To experience a life she never had before was clearly of great help to her recuperation and even her cultivation.
Although there was the Marketplace in Yin-Yang Pass where a lot of Open Heaven Realm Masters could help her recover, everyone was aware of her identity; therefore, everything they did was meant to help her heal, and the way they treated her was not natural.
Nevertheless, it was different in Yang Kai’s Small Universe where she had lived for over 100 years.
The hunter and his wife were not aware that the child they had picked up from the log house on the mountain was a Ninth-Order Old Ancestor. They had treated her with care and love. The Old Ancestor, who had sealed off her memory, spent time with the couple just like other children with their parents.
This life made up for the regret she had in her heart.
She was badly injured after the battle against the Royal Lord. It was because she had intended to be mutually wounded with her opponent, so she had not held back at all.
It could be said that it was the most severe injury she had ever suffered in her life. That was why she only awakened after she remained unconscious in the Small Universe for a long time.
Even if she were in the Marketplace in Yin-Yang Pass, it would’ve required several hundred years before she could recover given her injuries.
Yang Kai’s Small Universe could help her recover quicker than if she were to stay in the Marketplace in Yin-Yang Pass, but it still should have taken her 200 years at the very least.
However, barely more than 100 years had passed, but she had fully recovered. It was thanks to the experience in this life that she obtained such benefits.
In other words, she would be able to recover rapidly by experiencing a life she had never gone through before.
Upon that revelation, Yang Kai fell into his thoughts.
“From today forward, my name is Xiao Xiao,” the Old Ancestor announced, “No one has called me by my original name for so long that I’ve almost forgotten it, so it no longer carries any meaning to me.”
Yang Kai was startled for a moment, but he naturally wouldn’t dare to say anything, for she was the Old Ancestor.
By keeping this name that she had been using for 100 years, she did not only show her gratitude to the couple, but it was also a way for her to remember them. The couple had made up for the regret in Xiao Xiao’s heart with their love.
They were just ordinary mortals while Xiao Xiao was a Ninth-Order Old Ancestor; however, these two mortals in Yang Kai’s Small Universe played a key part in Old Ancestor Xiao Xiao’s recovery, thus having an impact on a war that involved countless lives.
Such a thing would never have crossed the simple couple’s minds.
With that said, given their temperaments, they would have just laughed joyfully even if they found out about it. They would be more than happy to know that their Daughter was such an important figure.
While Yang Kai was in a dazed state, he felt a Will penetrating the Small Universe’s barrier and returning to the outside world. It was the Old Ancestor’s Will.
At that moment, the Humans were getting some rest in the forward base.
In fact, they had been doing that since their arrival at this place that was just outside of the Royal City. Other than pretending to attack the Royal City following the leaders’ order, they had never directly clashed with the Black Ink Clan.
Nevertheless, none of them would complain about it. Although the Commander’s tactics were cunning and even a bit shameless, they were effective.
Every time they moved closer to the Royal City, they would successfully distract the Black Ink Clan, and the Universe Worlds would kill a lot of their enemies.
Many Human soldiers hoped that as they kept doing this, they would eventually destroy all 1 million Black Ink Clansmen; however, considering the fact that the dead Black Ink Clansmen would be replaced, such a situation seemed unlikely.
Both parties had been in a confrontation for the past 30 or so years. Other than taking turns to extract resources, the Humans would also spend the rest of their time cultivating; hence, their strength had improved slightly.
With that said, it took a long time for an Open Heaven Realm Master to grow their power, so this minor increase wouldn’t affect the current situation.
Presently, other than the soldiers, the leaders in the Army were also cultivating.
The Purifying Black Ink Battleship was hovering in the void above the forward base as it faced the Royal City’s direction. The people on the battleship could constantly monitor the movements in the Royal City from here.
Although it was unlikely that the Black Ink Clan would launch an attack, they had to remain vigilant.
Inside the Purifying Black Ink Battleship, Xiang Shan, Liu Zhi Ping, and the other Eighth-Order Division Commanders were cultivating in their respective rooms when suddenly, a Will swept across the entire Purifying Black Ink Battleship. All the leaders, who were cultivating, were shocked.
The next instant, they appeared elated. This couldn’t be helped, as this Will clearly belonged to the Old Ancestor.
After the battle against the Royal Lord back then, the Old Ancestor entered Yang Kai’s Small Universe to recover. There hadn’t been any news about her since then. Xiang Shan had asked Yang Kai about the progress in the Old Ancestor’s recuperation, but Yang Kai only told him that everything was going well.
Xiang Shan initially thought that it would take the Old Ancestor at least 40 to 50 years to recuperate, but she left the Small Universe barely less than 30 years later.
[Has the Old Ancestor fully recovered? That’s too quick!]
As the Will swept through the battleship, an order was passed down.
In an instant, the originally quiet Purifying Black Ink Battleship became bustling with noise as the Commanders promptly left their rooms and headed to the conference hall.
Soon, they all gathered together.
Xiang Shan turned to look at an Eighth-Order Open Heaven Realm Master and asked, “Junior Brother Zhou, how many Universe Worlds are ready now?”
The Eighth-Order Open Heaven Realm Master surnamed Zhou was responsible for mobilising people to move Universe Worlds back from the void and organizing the Array Masters to fortify them.
He had been diligent since he was given such a task and immediately replied, “10 days ago, I was informed that five Universe Worlds are ready to be used. The sixth one is still being prepared.”
Xiang Shan nodded. It had only been four years since they last launched an attack on the Royal City. They were pretty efficient to have found five suitable Universe Worlds and finished setting them up during this period.
According to the plan of Xiang Shan and the others, they should prepare at least 10 to 15 Universe Worlds before they initiated an attack so that it would have a more devastating impact on the enemy; however, that plan had to be modified now.
“The Old Ancestor intends to attack the Royal City, so we’ll need those six Universe Worlds prepared now.”
The Eighth-Order Open Heaven Realm Master surnamed Zhou replied, “Six Universe Worlds might not be sufficient to have a meaningful impact. Should we discuss the matter with the Old Ancestor and postpone the attack?”
Xiang Shan shook his head, “Compared to causing a lot of casualties to the Black Ink Clan, disturbing the Royal Lord’s recuperation is more important. Since the Old Ancestor has recovered, she can make a move now. On the other hand, the Royal Lord might not be able to do so. If we don’t do anything now, the Black Ink Clan will only gain a more advantageous position.”
The man surnamed Zhou nodded, “You have a point, Senior Brother Xiang. I was too negligent.”
Liu Zhi Ping said, “Moreover, since the Old Ancestor can make a move now, the number of Universe Worlds we have no longer matters.”
The presence of an Old Ancestor was significantly more intimidating to the Black Ink Clan than a few more Universe Worlds; therefore, the lack of Universe Worlds shouldn’t be a concern.
“In that case, send the teams working on the Universe Worlds a message and tell them to start taking action,” Xiang Shan ordered.
Soon, the man surnamed Zhou left the Purifying Black Ink Battleship and activated the Universe Transference Law. With the help of the Universe Array, he headed to the other Purifying Black Ink Battleship that was about 10 days away from the forward base, where the Humans were setting up Universe Worlds.
As the Universe Worlds were propelled across the Void for 10 days, they would gain horrifying momentum by the time they arrived at the Royal City.
For the ease of communication between both sides, the East-West Army’s second Purifying Black Ink Battleship was anchored there.
As arrangements were being made in the East-West Army, the soldiers were soon mobilised. All of them stopped cultivating and started getting busy.
Inside the Small Universe, Old Ancestor Xiao Xiao stood in front of the simple tomb and stared at it as she talked to Yang Kai.
With her memory unsealed and her injuries fully healed, she was at the peak of her strength; however, she would never forget the fact that she had lived in this village for over 100 years.
The couple in the tomb would always be her parents who had taken care of her for all their lives.
Basically, it was Old Ancestor Xiao Xiao who talked most of the time while Yang Kai simply listened.
All she talked about was her daily life with the couple. It was hard to imagine that a Ninth-Order Old Ancestor could wear such a sincere smile when she recounted such mundane affairs.
Nevertheless, this was truly who Old Ancestor Xiao Xiao was. Yang Kai believed that this one point was where she significantly differed from the other Old Ancestors. She was a vivid, vibrant figure rather than a dispassionate and aloof powerhouse.
Yang Kai had come into contact with several Old Ancestors before. In comparison, he felt most at ease with Old Ancestor Xiao Xiao. It could even be said that he didn’t feel pressured at all when he was with her.
Perhaps this had something to do with the uniqueness of her Secret Art. She needed the help of the Bustling World Essence when she recuperated, so her personality was more related to it as well.
Since she constantly immersed herself in the Bustling World, she naturally wouldn’t become aloof to mundane matters.
“Do you think reincarnation exists in this World?” Old Ancestor Xiao Xiao suddenly asked.
After giving it a thought, Yang Kai replied, “Since I’ve never experienced it before, I wouldn’t dare to jump to an unfounded conclusion.”
Old Ancestor Xiao Xiao chuckled and stopped asking. As she looked up at the sky, she said, “I’ll take my leave now.”
The next instant, she shot into the sky.
At this point, it had been an entire month since the hunter and his Wife’s death in the Small Universe.
Presently, many Territory Lords in the Royal City sported ugly expressions. This couldn’t be helped, as the Humans were mobilizing again.
They remembered each and every attack the Humans had launched on the Royal City, and with every mobilisation came the harassment of the weaponized Universe Worlds. Furthermore, the Humans would only approach the Royal City every time to pressure them, but the Black Ink Clan’s one million soldiers would all still have to respond as if a battle was imminent. They had no choice but to send forces to block those Universe Worlds and the Human Army.
Over the years, a staggering number of Black Ink Clansmen had lost their lives to those Universe Worlds.
It was expected that all of the Black Ink Clansmen were vexed.
They were fine with being killed by the Humans on the battlefield. Dying in battle was as much an honour for them as it was for the Humans; however, their deaths were practically worthless as they were killed by the Spirit Arrays on those Universe Worlds. The Black Ink Clan defenders had never even made contact with the Humans.
The Humans had been shamelessly using this tactic for the past 20 to 30 years. They didn’t even bother with putting on a pretence now, and there were no signs of them changing strategy any time soon.
The Black Ink Clan didn’t have a way to solve this problem. They couldn’t ignore the Universe Worlds or the Human Army that simply pretended to attack the Royal City, for both of them could potentially cause catastrophic damage if left alone.
The Black Ink Clan had to deal with both sides, so they had been led by the nose over the years, falling into a completely passive position.
Presently, Che Kong was standing on the deck of a large ship as he looked towards the left side of the Royal City.
The fleet of Human Warships was menacingly coming at them, as though they were determined to destroy the Black Ink Clan.
Nevertheless, Che Kong wore a dispassionate expression.
The first two times when he saw such a sight, he gave a flurry of orders and mobilised the Black Ink Clan soldiers in preparation.
However, he had become somewhat desensitized after experiencing this same scene so many times.
That was because he knew that the Humans wouldn’t really try to invade the Royal City; they were just putting on a pretence by forming into a Battle Formation.
What they were trying to achieve was to tie 70% of the Black Ink Clan Army down.
Apart from Che Kong, the other Territory Lords and Black Ink Clan soldiers had become apathetic as well. They hadn’t directly clashed with the Humans for the past 30,000 years, and as soon as both parties came into contact, they realised that the Humans were more shameless and despicable than the stories that had been passed down from their ancestors.
As the Black Ink Clansmen watched intently, the fleet of Warships driven by Humans crept closer to the Royal City. Presently, the Warships were only a bit more than 10 million kilometres away.
Based on past experiences, the Universe Worlds would appear about now. When the Human soldiers reached a spot that was 10 million kilometres away from the Royal City, the Black Ink Clan would have to start attacking the incoming Universe Worlds.
By then, the Humans would either directly retreat or launch a round of attacks before running away. There wouldn’t be anything new.
“What’s the situation? How many Universe Worlds have they prepared this time?” Che Kong asked the Territory Lord beside him as he gazed at the fleet of Warships.
They had experienced the same thing many times before, so although they were unable to fully resolve it, they had come up with some tactics to deal with this situation.
They could make some arrangements in advance by sending out scouts to find out how many Universe Worlds were coming at them so that the soldiers around the Royal City could get psychologically prepared.
This wasn’t a difficult task for the Black Ink Clan.
Upon hearing Che Kong’s question, the Territory Lord, who looked like a female, replied, “I was just informed that the Humans have sent six Universe Worlds towards the Royal City this time.”
“Six Universe Worlds?” Che Kong frowned, “Are you sure?”
Other than the initial probing attack, the Humans had never used such a small amount of Universe Worlds to attack the Royal City. During the first real attack, they had used 10 Universe Worlds. If there were too few Universe Worlds, it wouldn’t pose a threat to the Black Ink Clan.
The female Territory Lords shook her head, “A single Feudal Lord might be mistaken, but it’s not likely for five Feudal Lords to all be mistaken.”
Che Kong fell into his thoughts.
Since several Feudal Lords had left to gather information at the same time, there was no way their information was inaccurate.
“It has only been a few years since they last launched an attack on the Royal City. They might not have enough resources to set up the Spirit Arrays. Six Universe Worlds might be their limit this time,” the female Territory Lord said.
Certainly, Che Kong understood that; however, if the Humans didn’t have enough resources, why didn’t they just wait a few more years? They could have prepared even more Universe Worlds by collecting sufficient resources first.
The Humans’ unusual approach this time made him feel ill at ease.
“Tell them not to let their guard down. The Humans’ behaviour is a little unusual this time. Perhaps they have some other plot.”
The female Territory Lord nodded and waved her hand, after which a Feudal Lord approached her. She spoke to the Territory Lord, who then left in a hurry and passed her order on to the right flank of the Royal City.
Meanwhile, the Black Ink Clan soldiers on the right side of the Royal City could see that the Universe Worlds were flying towards them from the void.
The Universe Worlds were rapidly moving across the void. Perhaps the Humans knew that they couldn’t hide the Universe Worlds from the Black Ink Clan, so they had stopped wasting any resources to arrange any Spirit Arrays to conceal them since the third attack. That way, all the Universe Worlds that were coming at the Royal City were as bright as the Great Suns. Although they were still millions of kilometres away, they were flying towards the Royal City in an intimidating manner.
Before those Universe Worlds even arrived, many of the Black Ink Clan soldiers gulped. Based on past experiences, every time the Humans attacked, a large number of the Black Ink Clansmen would lose their lives. Although dying to Humans on the battlefield was an honourable sacrifice, it didn’t mean they were willing to be slaughtered by these Universe Worlds covered in Spirit Arrays.
On the other hand, the Territory Lords in this place were at ease, for they had already successfully intercepted 18 Universe Worlds in a single attack before, thus ensuring the safety of the Royal City.
With that said, they had paid a huge price to achieve that victory.
Since there were only six Universe Worlds this time, it would be effortless for them to defend the Royal City.
On the left side of the Royal City, the Human Warships were only 12 million kilometres away.
The unease that Che Kong felt intensified.
This kind of unease came out of nowhere, be he was still deeply concerned.
He paid close attention to both sides of the Royal City so that he wouldn’t miss any anomalies; however, regardless of how hard he looked, he couldn’t detect anything unusual.
He was informed by the clansmen from the right flank that there were indeed only six approaching Universe Worlds. On the other hand, the Human Warships were inching closer to the left side of the Royal City. It was estimated that by the time the Universe Worlds struck, the Humans would have reached a spot that was 10 million kilometres away from the Royal City.
The Humans would always do this without fail, and their timing was annoyingly precise.
Since there were no anomalies on either of the sides, why did Che Kong feel ill at ease at this point?
Just then, he detected an anomaly from the corner of his eye. He promptly turned to look in the direction where the Humans’ forward base was located.
There seemed to be a ray of light that was coming at the Royal City at an unimaginable speed.
This kind of speed couldn’t be achieved by a mere Territory Lord or Eighth-Order Masters.
Che Kong detected that ray of light just as it emerged from the Humans’ forward base, but in the blink of an eye, it had moved across millions of kilometres and was growing closer at an astonishing rate.
In just several breaths of time, the ray of light became as dazzling as the Sun. At the same time, a terrifying pressure could be felt coming from the light.
Che Kong felt his chest tightening as he exclaimed, “It’s the Old Ancestor!”
By the time he finished speaking, the ray of light from the Humans’ forward base had turned into a gigantic blade. There seemed to be an invisible hand that was holding the blade and slashing at the Royal City.
Space trembled, and the universe destabilised.
Faced with this sudden attack, all the Black Ink Clansmen felt cold all over their bodies, as though they were about to lose their lives.
Time seemed to have frozen at that instant. Regardless of how bright the light was, it couldn’t conceal the stunning beauty within it.
At that moment, both the Black Ink Clan soldiers and the Human soldiers found their eyes drawn to that figure.
It was a figure who was wearing all-white clothes with a piece of white cloth wrapped around her forehead.
It was said that women looked best in white clothes. Old Ancestor Xiao Xiao, who was already astonishingly beautiful to begin with, stunned the Black Ink Clan the moment she appeared in the void with that outfit. Besides them, the Humans were dumbfounded as well.
At this moment, Old Ancestor Xiao Xiao was pointing two fingers at the Royal City, swinging the gigantic blade that was the manifestation of her power down towards it.
On the deck of the Purifying Black Ink Battleship, Xiang Shan, who had always been a calm and collected man, couldn’t help gawking.
Liu Zhi Ping covered her lips in disbelief.
The Eighth-Order Division Commander beside them felt the corner of his brow twitching as he muttered, “Why is the Old Ancestor wearing mourning robes?”
They were familiar with the clothes that the Old Ancestor was wearing as those were clearly mourning robes. One would only put on such clothes when their relatives passed away; however, no one in the world would be important enough to let the Old Ancestor wear mourning robes after they passed away.
The two Army Commanders, the Eighth-Order Open Heaven Realm Masters, and the other Human soldiers were all puzzled; after all, the Old Ancestor was already one of the most powerful cultivators in the entire Human Race. Be it her age, cultivation, or seniority, she was at the peak of everything. Even if a Junior from her Sect had passed away, she didn’t have to put on such clothes.
Certainly, the Old Ancestor didn’t have any Elders either as they should have all passed on by now.
The Eighth-Order Division Commander suddenly had an odd idea as he thought of a possibility, “Could it be that Yang Kai has lost his life?”
The Old Ancestor had been recuperating in Yang Kai’s Small Universe, so if he had perished due to an accident in the process, it was possible that the Old Ancestor would put on such clothes to express her regret.
“What nonsense are you spouting?” Liu Zhi Ping glared at the Eighth-Order Division Commander.
Even if Yang Kai had really passed on due to an accident when the Old Ancestor was recuperating, it still couldn’t explain why she was wearing mourning robes.
It seemed something they couldn’t understand must have happened during the Old Ancestor’s recuperation.
Dawning Light was located on the far side of the fleet, so it could be said that the Warship was near the outer flank.
In such a location, once a battle broke out, they would be in a more perilous situation than the Warships closer to the centre because they could be attacked and encircled by the Black Ink Clan first.
Certainly, the leaders had intentionally made such an arrangement. Dawn was a Special Operations Squad and was exceptionally powerful, while Dawning Light was significantly sturdier than other Squad Class Warships. It was expected that they would be tasked with dealing with the Black Ink Clan first.
The moment the Old Ancestor appeared, the members of Dawn were dumbfounded and rendered speechless.
Just then, a fluctuation was felt coming from the Space Array on Dawning Light. Feng Ying turned her head and saw a familiar figure stepping out of the array.
“Squad Leader!” She exclaimed with joy. The other members greeted him as well.
Over the years, Yang Kai had been helping the Old Ancestor to recuperate, so he hadn’t shown up all this time. Although Feng Ying was there to lead Dawn, they just felt that something was missing.
It wasn’t until Yang Kai appeared that the feeling was gone.
Wherever Humans gathered together, they would need a pillar of strength, and to the members of Dawn, Yang Kai was that pillar.
Yang Kai nodded lightly and moved towards the deck. As he looked intently, he couldn’t help but give a nod.
It seemed that the Black Ink Clan had run out of luck this time. The Old Ancestor was going all out the moment she appeared. It was apparent that she was in a terrible mood, so she wanted to vent it all out.
Although her power had been restored and her memory had been unsealed, she would never forget the 100-year life she had experienced in Yang Kai’s Small Universe.
As Xiao Xiao, she naturally wouldn’t be in a good mood after her parents, who had taken care of her all their lives, passed away.
“What happened to the Old Ancestor? Has one of her relatives passed away?” Feng Ying voiced the doubts of those members on the deck.
“It’s a long story,” Yang Kai wasn’t even sure how to explain. What’s more, this matter was something deeply personal and intimate to the Old Ancestor, so he couldn’t just reveal it as he pleased.
“Has the Old Ancestor recovered?” Qi Tai Chu asked, as that was the most pressing issue for the Humans now.
They were aware that the Old Ancestor was recuperating, and they had already estimated how long it would take her to recover.
Although there wasn’t a clear answer, they all agreed that it would take her many decades to 100 years to recover. Some of the soldiers came from Yin-Yang Pass, so they knew better than the others about how the Old Ancestor healed.
They were the ones who speculated that it would take her up to 200 years to fully recover.
Therefore, everyone believed that it would be at least 50 years before the Old Ancestor made a move again.
None of them had expected that the Old Ancestor would finish her recovery barely 30 years later, or that the moment she showed up, she would launch a fierce attack on the Royal City.
“She’s fine,” Yang Kai replied.
Feng Ying’s eyes brightened, “Does that mean that it’s serious this time?”
Several tens of thousands of soldiers of the East-West Army had been mobilised many times over the past 20 years to attack the Royal City; however, they would only put on a pretence each time. There was no doubt that it was a clever tactic, and the Black Ink Clan had suffered a lot of hardship because of that, but the Humans yearned to clash with the Black Ink Clan on the battlefield to let the latter know their fury and strength.
They had been waiting for the war to really start for the past 30 years.
They had been waiting for this day since they stepped into Black Ink Clan’s territory in the Great Evolution Theatre.
Yang Kai nodded, “Since the Old Ancestor has made a move, there’s no way we’ll go home without achieving anything!”
They exchanged glances with excitement all over their faces.
Other than the members of Dawn, the soldiers on the other Warships were equally thrilled.
In fact, the moment the Old Ancestor showed up and attacked the Royal City, everyone knew that they weren’t going to just put up a pretence this time; they would be directly clashing with the Black Ink Clan.
All the soldiers made ready for battle.
Only a moment had passed as the gigantic blade solidified and slashed at the Royal City.
Before the attack even arrived, a terrifying pressure engulfed the entire Royal City. The Black Ink Clansmen on both sides of the Royal City were horrified. Covered in this pressure, the weaker Low-Rank Black Ink Clansmen were unable to resist and began bleeding black blood from all over their bodies, as if it was being squeezed out of them. In the blink of an eye, these weaker Black Ink Clansmen exploded into black mists.
The High-Rank Black Ink Clansmen were in better condition, but they still found it hard to even move freely.
Only the Feudal Lords and the Territory Lords were able to resist the terrifying pressure.
The gigantic blade slashed towards the huge Black Ink Nest in the centre of the Royal City.
This was the foundation of the Black Ink Clan in the Great Evolution Theatre; as long as this Black Ink Nest was destroyed, the transmission of information between the Black Ink Clan would cease, and they would be unable to produce any new Black Ink Clansmen. If the Humans could destroy the Royal Lord’s Black Ink Nest first, victory would be assured. Then, by killing the remaining Black Ink Clansmen, they would be able to fully occupy the Great Evolution Theatre.
By then, the entire Theatre would fall into the Humans’ hands. Since the beginning of the war between the two Races, no Great Pass had ever achieved such a feat before. If Great Evolution Army could achieve this, it would be a turning point forever recorded in the annals of history.
As the soldiers of the two Races watched intently, the gigantic blade was forcefully brought down.
Just when it was about to come into contact with the Black Ink Nest, a roar reverberated across the void, “Impudence!”
Following the roar, a dark hand stuck out from the Black Ink Nest all of a sudden and grabbed the blade.
The gigantic hand was made of pure Black Ink Strength, and the veins on it were so clearly defined that it appeared completely real.
The moment the dark hand appeared, the Royal Lord’s Will permeated the void.
Since Old Ancestor Xiao Xiao wanted to destroy the Black Ink Nest, there was no way the Royal Lord, who was recuperating inside it, would be oblivious to the attack. He awakened in an instant and promptly reacted to the threat.
Ultimately, the blade didn’t manage to strike the Black Ink Nest as it was grasped by the dark hand. The powers of the Royal Lord and the Old Ancestor clashed as the dazzling light expanded.
Darkness and light were locked in confrontation above the Royal City. After a short deadlock, the dazzling light pressed down again while the dark hand was forced lower, as though it was unable to resist the blade as it inched closer to the Black Ink Nest.
All the Black Ink Clansmen felt their hearts leaping to their throats, for the sight suggested that the Royal Lord was at a disadvantage.
The Black Ink Clansmen were horrified, for if the Royal Lord couldn’t resist this attack, his Black Ink Nest would be destroyed. Once that happened, regardless of how many Black Ink Clansmen there were, they would be like a tree without roots, or a river without a source. All of them would die sooner or later, with no hope for the future.
Just as the Black Ink Clansmen were growing anxious, even more Black Ink Strength billowed from the Black Ink Nest and streamed into the dark hand.
With this new wave of Black Ink Strength’s help, the dark hand, which was originally being forced back, steadied itself. Not only did it get out of the disadvantageous position though, but it even started pushing the enemy back.
The Black Ink Clansmen were ecstatic.
This situation suggested that the Royal Lord was only temporarily at a disadvantage after the sneak attack. Since he had rallied his strength, there was no way the Old Ancestor was a match for him.
After all, a Royal Lord who was close to his Black Ink Nest could make use of the Black Ink Nest’s power and exhibit strength beyond what he normally could.
The clash between the blade and the dark hand soon ended. As the dark hand tightened its grip, the blade shattered and scattered into wisps of light.
As the blade disappeared, the Old Ancestor turned into a ray of light and charged towards the Royal Lord’s Black Ink Nest.
The enraged Royal Lord flew out, and the two figures, one big and one small, clashed above the Royal City, shaking the Heavens and shattering the Earth.
Unlike their previous exchange, the Royal Lord had gone all out right from the start.
This couldn’t be helped, as the Royal City was literally right behind him. He had to ward off the Old Ancestor at all costs and make sure that his Black Ink Nest was not damaged.
Thrown into this intense battle, the Royal Lord was infuriated.
He had never expected that the Old Ancestor would come spoiling for a fight so soon.
He had only exchanged moves with the other party once in the past. Although he had suffered a setback in that battle, he was generally fine. After obtaining some information from the Royal Lord in the Yin-Yang Theatre, he learned a lot about the female Old Ancestor. On the other hand, the Old Ancestor knew next to nothing about him.
Therefore, after the previous battle, he concluded that it would take this Old Ancestor at least 200 years to recuperate before she staged a comeback.
200 years was enough for him to fully recover with the help of his Black Ink Nest. By then, he would be able to catch the Old Ancestor off guard.
How could he have anticipated that the Old Ancestor came attacking him again barely 20 to 30 years later?
[Has she fully recovered? Wouldn’t it damage her foundation if she frequently makes a move without healing first?]
From what he had gathered, the Old Ancestor from Yin-Yang Pass cultivated a unique Secret Art, and it was extremely difficult for her to recuperate once injured. It seemed impossible that she could recover in such a short time.
However, their brief exchange just now had astounded him.
If not for him drawing on the Black Ink Nest’s strength, he wouldn’t have been able to block the Old Ancestor’s attack given his current state. As a result, the energy inside the Black Ink Nest, which was sufficient for him to use for the next 10 years, had been used up in just over 10 breaths of time.
Now, the Black Ink Nest was just an empty husk with no energy to spare.
But soon, he realised that his judgement was wrong as the Old Ancestor hadn’t fully recovered. That was because, during their subsequent clashes, he could sense that the Old Ancestor was occasionally sluggish when she activated her strength.
This was a sign that she was still injured. Although she had been trying her best to conceal it, he could still sense it.
This allowed him to feel slightly more at ease.
It would have been a catastrophe for the Black Ink Clan if this Old Ancestor could really recover so quickly. Now, she was just concealing her injury using some kind of Secret Technique. She was practically digging her own grave.
The backlash from using such a technique, on top of her own injuries would cause serious damage to her in the long run.
Both of them still hadn’t recovered from their injuries, so neither held an advantageous position.
It was just the Royal Lord’s speculation in the beginning, but as the battle dragged on, he became certain of his judgement.
There was no way that the Old Ancestor had fully recovered. Although she still fought as fiercely as the last time, she was unable to conceal the fact that she was not at the peak of her power.
In the beginning, the Royal Lord was at a disadvantage, but as time passed, they became equally matched. A while later, the Old Ancestor was at a disadvantageous position instead.
The Royal Lord acted relentlessly, for this was the best chance for him to injure or even kill his opponent, so he wouldn’t let it slip through his fingers.
Now, it seemed that the Old Ancestor was trying to suppress the injury she had previously suffered from. Her intention was to destroy the Black Ink Nest when the Royal Lord was recuperating, but she hadn’t expected that the latter would counterattack so quickly. At that moment though, it was impossible for her to just stop halfway.
With that said, even though the Royal Lord had gained the upper hand, he was unable to obtain a decisive advantage.
This couldn’t be helped, as these two most powerful Masters were fighting against each other above the Royal City. While the Old Ancestor had no qualms about unleashing all her power, the Royal Lord couldn’t do that. He had to protect his Black Ink Nest; therefore, not only did he have to deal with his opponent, but he also had to divert some of his strength and attention to block the fallout of their clash.
A Black Ink Nest was surprisingly fragile and defenceless, so even the fallout from a high-level battle could destroy it.
With such a restraint, it would be extremely difficult for the Royal Lord to expand his advantage.
However, he soon found a solution for it. He secretly gave an order, after which three Territory Lords led seven Eighth-Order Black Ink Disciples to return from the right side of the Royal City and protect the Black Ink Nest.
With the presence of three Territory Lords and seven Eighth-Order Black Ink Disciples, 10 powerful Masters on par with Eighth-Order Division Commanders, they could easily ward off all the fallout and ensure the Black Ink Nest’s safety.
The reason the Royal Lord made such an arrangement was that he realised it didn’t require so many powerful Black Ink Clansmen to protect the right side of the city; after all, there were only six Universe Worlds this time, so it was fine to get ten of them to come over and protect the High-Rank Black Ink Nest. The rest of them could still deal with the Universe Worlds.
In the meantime, many Feudal Lords streamed into the Black Ink Nest and arrived at the Black Ink Pool. After fishing out all their materials from their Space Rings, they poured them into the Black Ink Pool.
Regardless of their Orders, the materials were directly absorbed by the Black Ink Pool and turned into pure Black Ink Strength.
That way, as long as the Royal Lord was still in the vicinity of the Royal City, he could make use of the Black Ink Nest to strengthen his power. As Black Ink Strength continuously billowed from the Black Ink Nest, the Royal Lord grew increasingly confident and was no longer flustered like he had been at the start of the battle.
Old Ancestor Xiao Xiao repeatedly attempted to break through his blockade and attack the Black Ink Nest, but he managed to block all her attacks.
As the Humans watched this sight, they secretly grew anxious.
None of them could have expected that the Old Ancestor would be at a disadvantage upon clashing with the Royal Lord. Despite that, the Human Race Army never stopped moving forward as they headed straight towards the Royal City.
On the deck of the Dawning Light, Yang Kai, who was intently watching the fight, furrowed his brow.
This scenario was playing out differently from what he had expected.
What puzzled him was that the Old Ancestor was slightly sluggish when she activated her power. Although they were far apart, he could still sense it as the Old Ancestor was extremely powerful to begin with.
He was very familiar with that kind of sluggishness, and knew it meant that a cultivator was injured.
Nevertheless, he was certain the Old Ancestor had fully recovered, so she hadn’t suffered a setback during the exchange of moves. How was it possible that she was suddenly injured again?
The only possibility he could think up was that the Old Ancestor was deliberately doing this to deceive her opponent.
Yang Kai wasn’t interested in speculating about the Old Ancestor’s intentions; however, since she was pretending to be injured, it suggested that everything was well within her control. Therefore, even though she appeared to be at a disadvantage, she must be secretly carrying out her plan.
Only a cup of tea’s time had passed since the Old Ancestor appeared and brought down her blade. The Royal Lord managed to intercept her attack in time, and they subsequently engaged in an intense battle.
Above the Royal City, the Old Ancestor was as menacing as ever, while on the other hand, the Black Ink Nest, which had been replenished with Black Ink Strength, continuously aided the Royal Lord, allowing him to act increasingly boldly.
Old Ancestor Xiao Xiao seemed to realize that the battle couldn’t be dragged out. If she wanted to destroy the Black Ink Nest, she had to circumvent the Royal Lord; however, she couldn’t ignore the Royal Lord, who was assisted by the Black Ink Nest’s power.
Hence, after a moment of deadlock, she decided to retreat.
The Royal Lord quickly chased after her, as though he was determined to stop her from fleeing.
The Black Ink Clansmen on the right side of the Royal City were dumbfounded.
This couldn’t be helped, as these two most powerful Masters soon arrived at their location.
Earlier, these weak Black Ink Clansmen already felt immensely pressured when facing the fallout of the battle, but now that these two were fighting right above their heads, how were they supposed to cope?
The Royal Lord was furious as had figured out the Old Ancestor’s intention. It was apparent that she was trying to make use of the Black Ink Clansmen to force him to act cautiously lest the innocent be hurt.
Certainly, the Royal Lord wouldn’t grant her wish. As he chased after her, his attacks were still as violent as ever. The life or death of these Black Ink Clansmen didn’t concern him.
To him, the Old Ancestor was his only enemy, and as long as he could kill her today, it would be fine even if all of his subordinates perished in the process.
As their powers clashed, the 300,000 or so Black Ink Clansmen on the right side of the Royal City were thrown into chaos. Many of them were injured or even killed. As the fallout of the epic clash swept across the void, even some of the unlucky Feudal Lords lost their lives, not to mention the High-Rank and Low-Rank Black Ink Clansmen.
The Territory Lords were even more furious than the Royal Lord, for the deceased Black Ink Clansmen were their subordinates. Without those subordinates, they would be leaders without any followers.
Some of the Territory Lords ran away and led their subordinates to leave this area lest more casualties were caused while other Territory Lords charged towards Old Ancestor Xiao Xiao along with their Eighth-Order Black Ink Disciples.
The battle between the Old Ancestor and the Royal Lord was intimidating, and the average person would never be able to have a hand in it; however, the Territory Lords and the Eighth-Order Black Ink Disciples were powerful enough to do that.
The Old Ancestor had to take a huge risk by trying to restrain the Royal Lord with the Black Ink Clansmen. As she was all on her own now, she was destined to be surrounded by her enemies.
With that said, Old Ancestor Xiao Xiao had already expected this. Before the Black Ink Clansmen could close in on her, she raised her hand and took out a medallion, which rapidly expanded into an invisible shield that surrounded her.
The Royal Lord’s horrifying attack as well as the Secret Techniques of those Territory Lords and Eighth-Order Black Ink Disciples struck the shield, causing it to ripple and dim.
It was apparent that the medallion that the Old Ancestor had summoned was quite precious. Despite that, most of its spirituality was lost very quickly.
However, with the help of the momentary protection, she performed a set of hand seals and chanted, “From Chaos, Yin and Yang are Born!”
As World Force undulated, a gigantic Yin-Yang Fish pattern expanded and engulfed the surrounding 300,000 Black Ink Clansmen.
At that instant, Yin and Yang manifested.
At the same time, countless strange-looking silk threads spread across the Yin-Yang Fish. Those silk threads appeared as light as feathers, but the instant they penetrated the Black Ink Clansmen, they became razor-sharp, easily cutting them into innumerable pieces.
The aura of death engulfed the entire void.
In just three breaths of time, the shield around the Old Ancestor was shattered, and at that instant, she extended her hand and grasped something.
An Eighth-Order Black Ink Disciple, who had been eager to make a contribution, froze as though he had been clenched by an immense force, his face filling with horror.
When he looked down, he realised that his legs had been tied by the silk threads, which quickly cut into his body.
Terrified, he hurriedly pushed the power of his Small Universe in an attempt to resist the attack.
Nevertheless, what happened next astounded him. The moment he tried to access his Small Universe, he realised that it had fallen into chaos.
He immediately inspected himself, only to see that the silk threads had broken through the barrier of his Small Universe and slashed across it like countless sharp knives.
At that instant, he came to the realisation that this was a Secret Technique that specifically targeted one’s Small Universe.
No one had a better understanding of Small Universes than the Human Old Ancestors. Moreover, the Old Ancestor before his eyes was one already an Order above him, and she had used a Secret Technique that specifically targeted the Small Universe. How was he supposed to resist?
What was laughable was that when he saw that the Old Ancestor was at a disadvantage against the Royal Lord earlier, he wanted to seize the chance and attack her.
However, instead of achieving his goal, he would most likely lose his life here.
As soon as the thought flashed through his mind, his Small Universe was cut to pieces, and his vitality rapidly left him.
An Eighth-Order Black Ink Disciple indeed had a right to have a hand in the battle between the Old Ancestor and the Royal Lord, but in order to do so, they had to bear an enormous risk.
Apart from him, the other Eighth-Order Black Ink Disciples faced the same situation. As they were engulfed in the Yin-Yang Fish, the silk threads broke through the barriers of their Small Universes and turned into attacks that could destroy the Heavens and shatter the Earth. Their Small Universes were soon devastated.
Faced with this attack, these Eighth-Order Black Ink Disciples had no other choice but to stop in their tracks and focused on resisting the invasive Secret Technique.
The Territory Lords didn’t have Small Universes, so they wouldn’t be targeted by the Secret Technique, but naturally the profound Secret Technique that the Old Ancestor had cast wouldn’t only work on Small Universes.
Those silk threads were plenty destructive in their own right.
The Territory Lords were soon wounded as their black blood scattered around the void. Regardless, they still relentlessly charged towards the Old Ancestor in an attempt to join forces and slay her.
The Royal Lord had never stopped his assault, and faced with the series of violent attacks, the Old Ancestor wouldn’t dare to be negligent.
Nevertheless, hovering within this Yin-Yang Fish, the Old Ancestor was evidently more agile and sensitive to her surroundings. She moved so elusively that even the Royal Lord found it hard to hit her.
10 breaths after the Yin-Yang Fish appeared, countless Black Ink Clansmen had lost their lives, while all the Territory Lords were wounded and the Eighth-Order Black Ink Disciples were struggling to save themselves.
However, with the absolute advantage in numbers on their side, these powerful Black Ink Clansmen eventually joined forces with the Royal Lord and besieged the Old Ancestor.
Just then, the Old Ancestor, who was wearing mourning robes, flashed a cunning smile. The next instant, she sank into the Yin-Yang Fish and disappeared.
The Secret Technique that the Royal Lord sent out completely missed its target.
Stunned, he soon turned to look in a different direction and widened his eyes.
That was the left side of the Royal City where 70% of the Black Ink Clan Army was located.
The Territory Lords on the left side had watched as the Old Ancestor attempted to attack the Black Ink Nest and subsequently got into a fight with the powerful Black Ink Clansmen on the right side of the city.
Although they wanted to help out, they could only remain in place as the Human soldiers were still creeping closer to the Royal City. They couldn’t do anything else other than stand their ground.
Little did they know that their inaction would soon bring them trouble.
The moment Old Ancestor Xiao Xiao appeared among the Black Ink Clansmen who were located on the left side of the Royal City, the Territory Lords and the Eighth-Order Black Ink Disciples were horrified.
Earlier, they had witnessed the moves that the Old Ancestor had used, so they were acutely aware of how powerful she was; therefore, the moment she appeared, the Black Ink Clansmen around her promptly ran away.
However, it was too late.
The World Force swirled around her and turned into a violent storm. As it spread out, the Black Ink Clansmen around her collapsed.
Following her appearance, the Yin-Yang Fish, which was supposed to be on the right side of the Royal City, appeared and engulfed the Black Ink Clansmen in this place.
All the Black Ink Clansmen felt as though they were suffocating.
If not for the fact that Old Ancestor Xiao Xiao was under considerable strain trying to affect so many enemies across such a vast area, she would have been able to destroy all these 700,000 Black Ink Clansmen on her own given enough time. Even the Territory Lords and the Eighth-Order Black Ink Disciples wouldn’t be able to escape from her.
Fortunately for them, the Royal Lord arrived swiftly.
These two figures clashed again.
This was their third battlefield as they had been fighting against each other all around the Royal City.
The first battlefield was just above the Royal City where Old Ancestor Xiao Xiao attempted to destroy the Black Ink Nest. After her plan was foiled, she had no choice but to head to the right side of the Royal City where she devastated the Black Ink Clansmen stationed over there.
After she was done with that, she somehow slipped over to the left side of the Royal City and did the same thing to the Black Ink Clan Army here. Such roguish actions did not befit her status as the Old Ancestor.
The Royal Lord was so furious that he almost went mad.
He had previously battled Old Ancestor Xiao Xiao. During the exchange of moves, his only impression of this Human was that she was insane, and this time, her insanity had gotten worse.
This woman was aware that she would be at a disadvantage by fighting against the Royal Lord near the Royal City, but she insisted on doing it just to destroy the Black Ink Clan Army.
The Royal Lord almost had the urge to leave her alone and head straight to the Human Warships. He wouldn’t be heartbroken regardless of how many Black Ink Clansmen lost their lives; however, if too many Humans were killed, the Old Ancestor wouldn’t be able to take it.
However, he did not dare act on this impulse, for if he did, this insane woman would surely seize the chance and head straight for the Black Ink Nest. When that happened, even though he could cause a massive number of casualties to the Humans, his Black Ink Nest would be gone forever.
He didn’t care how many Black Ink Clansmen were killed, but he could never let his Black Ink Nest be destroyed; therefore, he had to target the Old Ancestor no matter what. He could not allow her to move about freely.
This put him in a passive position.
Only 30% of the Black Ink Clansmen were located on the right flank of the Royal City, tasked with stopping the weaponized Universe Worlds from impacting the Royal City, so it didn’t require a lot of people. 30% would be enough.
On the other hand, 70% of the Black Ink Clansmen were stationed on the left side of the Royal City, which was more than two times the number on the right. It was only natural that there were also more Territory Lords and Eighth-Order Black Ink Disciples around here.
Now that Old Ancestor Xiao Xiao had shifted from the right side to the left side, the Territory Lords and the Eighth-Order Black Ink Disciples on the left side certainly wouldn’t sit back and do nothing. Just like what had happened earlier, they charged towards the Old Ancestor in order to assist the Royal Lord.
Old Ancestor Xiao Xiao was in an increasingly perilous situation.
Given the strength she had exhibited earlier, she would still be at a disadvantage even if she was in a one-on-one fight with the Royal Lord in this place, not to mention that the Royal Lord had the assistance of these Territory Lords and Eighth-Order Black Ink Disciples now.
Barely 30 breaths of time later, the Yin-Yang Fish, which had come with the Old Ancestor, shattered and returned to Chaos.
This was a sign that the Old Ancestor no longer had sufficient energy to sustain her Secret Technique.
She had to focus on dealing with the Royal Lord and the powerful Black Ink Clansmen who had besieged her; however, she no longer had enough power to fend off all their attacks, which broke through her defences and struck her seemingly frail figure, causing the light around her to flicker.
Seeing that, the Territory Lords and the Eighth-Order Black Ink Disciples exerted more power with their attacks in an attempt to aid the Royal Lord in taking down the Old Ancestor once and for all.
Nevertheless, it wasn’t easy to defeat a Ninth-Order Old Ancestor. The moment the Yin-Yang Fish fell apart, the void seemed to shake a little, and as the tremor spread, a shockwave was sent across the entire battlefield.
All the Black Ink Disciples temporarily fell into a dazed state.
The powerful Black Ink Clansmen were less impacted, but they still became sluggish for a moment.
The Old Ancestor charged through the Black Ink Army and broke through their blockade before dashing towards the depths of the void.
After a brief moment of hesitation, the Royal Lord decided to chase after her.
Just a moment later, the noise of the battle between these two most powerful Masters was heard coming from the distance.
The Black Ink Clansmen, who were originally in an orderly formation, were all scattered and bruised now. After Old Ancestor Xiao Xiao kicked up a storm, not only was their Battle Formation broken, but many of them had also lost their lives.
The lives of the Black Ink Clansmen below the Feudal Lords didn’t matter; however, it was heart-wrenching to know that a number of Black Ink Clansmen above the Feudal Lords were killed.
Even some of the Eighth-Order Black Ink Disciples had lost their lives. Just now, two of them were killed by the Old Ancestor, and including the one from the right flank, she had slain three Eighth-Order Black Ink Disciples in total.
Such casualties should never have happened.
Regardless of how powerful the Old Ancestor was, as long as the Black Ink Clansmen coordinated properly, and with the restraint from the Royal Lord, the Old Ancestor would never have achieved such results.
However, the Royal Lord wasn’t concerned about the life or death of his subordinates at all. While the Secret Techniques and Divine Abilities used by the Old Ancestor were ferocious, those used by the Royal Lord were even more savage.
These Black Ink Clansmen not only had to deal with the Old Ancestor, but they also had to be cautious about getting impacted by the repercussions of the Royal Lord’s attacks.
Although the battle didn’t last a long time, the powerful Black Ink Clansmen all felt extremely weary.
Fortunately, these two sources of disaster had left.
This was the kind of situation that should have taken place since the beginning. These two powerful Masters should have gone to their exclusive battlefield and engaged in a life-and-death battle. Why did they drag the less powerful ones into their clash?
However, before the Black Ink Clan could take a breath, they were faced with a new crisis.
The fleet of Human Warships was now closing in. Xiang Shan’s towering figure stood at the bow of a Battalion Class Warship at the front of the fleet, and with a solemn expression, he reached out and summoned a hideous-looking saber that was taller than he was.
He pointed the tip of the blade forward and ordered, “Kill!”
At that instant, lights of Secret Techniques and artifacts flashed across the fleet of Warships behind Xiang Shan and rained down fire on the Royal City.
Every Human soldier of every Squad on every Warship silently took action at this moment.
In this silent atmosphere, all of them infused their World Force into the arrays and artifacts as they vent their burning fury on the Black Ink Clan.
The Humans were enraged.
They had witnessed what had happened to the Old Ancestor, and although they understood that everything she had done was to create a chance for them to launch an attack, when they saw that she had to deal with so many powerful Black Ink Clansmen on her own while they were unable to help, they inevitably blamed themselves for not being strong enough.
It wasn’t until they got close to the Royal City that they could vent their suppressed frustrations.
This was technically their first real battle since the East-West Army departed from Wind and Cloud Pass, so they had to succeed at all costs.
For this battle, they had been patiently waiting and getting prepared for the past several decades.
The Black Ink Clansmen still hadn’t regained their senses from the earlier chaos when they were engulfed from the Heaven-destroying and Earth-shattering attacks.
Although Che Kong had already detected it, and he had been giving orders, the Black Ink Clan couldn’t form an effective resistance as their Army was currently still in chaos.
The powers of the Secret Techniques and the artifacts devastated the Black Ink Clan. Every attack was equivalent to an all-out move of a Seventh-Order Open Heaven Realm Master.
Every Warship could send out two to three such attacks at once, so with some 2,000 Warships around, it was akin to 5,000 Seventh-Order Open Heaven Realm Masters making a move all at once.
The sight was truly magnificent.
The Black Ink Clansmen in the periphery were unable to resist such attacks.
Engulfed in the colourful lights, they were eternally laid to rest.
Before the two Races even clashed, a massive number of Black Ink Clansmen had lost their lives.
After the series of attacks, there was a moment of silence.
Several breaths of time later, the attacks of the same intensity shot forth again.
After three rounds of intense attacks from the Warships, a large number of Black Ink Clansmen were either injured or killed.
The Black Ink Clansmen were terrified.
It had been 30,000 years since they last fought with the Humans, and over the past 30 years, although the Humans had repeatedly harassed them, they would run away after launching a single round of attacks and achieving some small success. Hence, the Black Ink Clan never had a taste of how horrible the Human Warships truly were.
It wasn’t until this day that they realised the Humans were truly powerful. Faced with the continuous attacks, many Black Ink Clansmen were consigned to oblivion without even the chance to resist.
With the help of the arrays and artifacts on the Warships, the Humans were able to launch attacks on the enemy while the Black Ink Clan was unable to respond on the spot.
That way, most of the Black Ink Clansmen were powerless to counterattack as they were struck by the barrage.
Although the Territory Lords and the Feudal Lords did counterattack, the Eighth-Order Open Heaven Realm Masters certainly wouldn’t sit back and allow the Black Ink Clan to make a scene.
While the fleet of Warships was still creeping closer to the Royal City, the powerful Masters from the two Races exchanged moves from a distance.
The battlefield on the left side of the Royal City was bustling with noise, while on the right side of the Royal City, the Black Ink Clansmen who had just endured the battle between the Old Ancestor and the Royal Lord felt quite conflicted.
This couldn’t be helped, as the Humans had greatly changed their tactics this time.
In the past, when the Humans launched a round of attacks on them, the Universe Worlds would arrive at the same time.
But this time, while the Human soldiers had clashed with the Black Ink Clansmen on the left, the Universe Worlds still hadn’t arrived at the right side.
This forced 30% of the Black Ink Clan Army to remain idle as they had to stay there to prevent the Universe Worlds from destroying the Royal City. They could only watch as their clansmen on the left side were attacked, while there was nothing they could do to help.
This was apparently the plan that the Humans had come up with.
A moment later, the Human Warships had already closed to just 1 million kilometres from the Royal City. At such a distance, the two Armies could now engage in close quarters combat.
The continuous attacks from those Warships finally stopped.
This couldn’t be helped, as the cultivators responsible for controlling the offensive arrays and artifacts on the Warships were basically Fifth-Order and Sixth-Order Open Heaven Realm Masters. Although they were fairly strong, and they could cast Seventh-Order attacks with the help of the arrays and artifacts, their heritage wasn’t nearly as deep as real Seventh-Order Open Heaven Realm Masters.
They couldn’t possibly exert themselves to activate the powers of the arrays and artifacts continuously for an extended period of time. After such a long barrage, they had to slow down and restore their strength.
Che Kong, who was extremely vexed, raised his arm and ordered, “Stop them! Do not let them get any closer to the Royal City!”
Following his order, the Black Ink Clansmen behind him charged forward.
As the two Armies clashed, both parties had to be menacing and bold.
Certainly, neither the Humans nor the Black Ink Clan were less menacing or bold, especially when both parties were furious.
What happened to Old Ancestor Xiao Xiao enraged the Humans while her actions infuriated the Black Ink Clan.
As these raging Armies clashed, it was destined to be a brutal battle.
Faced with the Humans’ onslaught, the Black Ink Clansmen at the front were instantly killed. On the other hand, the defences around the Human Warships at the front flickered.
The Secret Techniques from both parties intertwined in the void and rained down on each other. For a battle of such scale, there was no need for specific targets, everyone simply attacked the enemy closest to them.
Both Armies engaged in an intense struggle as soon as they came into contact.
Such intense fighting was more than many Black Ink Clansmen could take, resulting in massive casualties on their side. Even the Human Warships couldn’t last forever under such wanton bombardment.
After just 10 breaths of time, the 300 Warships which formed the vanguard of the East-West Army’s force had their shields turning dim. It was a sign that their defences were on the verge of failing.
On such a battlefield, if the defensive barriers around a Warship were broken, the entire Squad inside would have to face the Black Ink Clan’s wrath without protection. When that happened, the Seventh-Order Open Heaven Realm Masters might stand a chance to flee, but those below the Seventh-Order would be doomed.
Fortunately, they had already made arrangements.
Without the need for anyone to give orders, the moment the cultivators realised that their Warship was on the brink of breaking apart, they would retreat at full speed.
As one Warship withdrew, another would come forward to fill the gap.
There were several thousand Warships on the Humans’ side, so by cycling which ones were at the front of the assault, the East-West Army ensured they could deal the most damage while suffering the fewest losses as they crept closer to the Royal City.
As Warships retreated, the same amount of Warships would replace them from behind.
By using this method, there were rarely any casualties on the Humans’ side as the two Armies collided.
During the second round of replacement, Dawning Light made it to the forefront. The members responsible for controlling the defensive arrays and artifacts madly pushed their World Force and infused it into the arrays and artifacts so that their Warship could last even a little longer.
The ones in charge of the offensive arrays and artifacts quickly tried to restore their energy which they had exerted during the opening round of attacks.
Meanwhile, with Yang Kai in the lead, the Seventh-Order Open Heaven Realm Masters vented their powers on the Black Ink Clansmen in front of them.
The Secret Techniques they cast successfully killed many enemies.
Bai Yi’s skills in archery were especially intimidating in this kind of situation. Every arrow she shot could end a Feudal Lord’s life. As her petite figure stood at the bow of the ship, her eyes radiated an unusual glow. It was apparent that she had activated an Eye Secret Technique as she selected her targets.
The Warship of the Old Turtles Squad was not far from Dawning Light.
The Old Turtles were renowned for their defensive capabilities, so this kind of situation was where they could make the best use of their skills. The entire Warship radiated a glow which served as a barrier of defence like a thick tortoise shell, which could protect the soldiers beneath it.
When Dawning Light replaced a withdrawing Warship, the Old Turtles Squad had already been at the front, and even after some time had passed, their defences showed no sign of weakening.
It had to be said that even though the Old Turtles were slow, they were peerless when it came to their defence. Given such a characteristic, it would be hard for them to earn Military Merits in a search and destroy mission, but they could serve as the best shield for others around them in this kind of chaotic melee.
The Warships that had moved forward along with Dawning Light earlier had all been replaced. In fact, Dawning Light’s shields were also on the brink of failing.
Although the capabilities of Dawning Light were far greater than average Squad Class Warships, they were for all intents and purposes balanced. It was unlike the Warship of the Old Turtles Squad, which had outstanding defensive and offensive strength but greatly reduced speed and maneuverability. Dawning Light naturally reached its limit sooner than the Older Turtle’s Warship.
Fortunately, both Armies were already tangled up together, so Dawning Light didn’t have to fully retreat.
Like two torrents that collided, the universe seemed to have turned upside down as the void became destabilised.
After the exchange of moves, with the Battalion Class Warships leading the way, the Humans tore apart the defences of the Black Ink Clan Army.
The Warships from behind came forward and cast their attacks on the Black Ink Clansmen on both sides, further dividing up the enemy.
Like a sharp blade, the Human Warships cut across the Black Ink Clan’s lines and continued to move forward for several hundred thousand kilometres until the enemy Army had been split apart.
Upon arriving at this spot, the Battalion Class Warship in the lead suddenly changed directions and charged forward.
The other Warships all followed it closely.
The Battalion Class Warship was commanded by Xiang Shan. In order to carry out the plan on this day, this Battalion Class Warship was specially modified and its members were also carefully selected. Ordinary Squads were not comparable to it when it came to their offence and defence capabilities.
Such a Battalion Class Warship could serve as the tip of the spear.
Meanwhile, the other Battalion Class Warships, all commanded by the Eighth-Order Open Heaven Realm Masters, were located on the sides of the fleet. That way, with the protection of the Eighth-Order Open Heaven Realm Masters, they could ensure that the fleet wouldn’t be broken up, allowing them to move together as a cohesive force.
However, the price that the East-West Army had to pay was that the Eighth-Order Open Heaven Realm Masters had lost their freedom to move around.
It wasn’t hard for the Black Ink Clan to resolve this problem, they just had to gather enough power and specifically target one point of the fleet to break up the formation.
Therefore, the Humans had to bear some risk by using this tactic. With that said, in order to ensure the completeness of the fleet, they had no other choice.
Only by acting this way could they limit the losses that they might suffer.
The lives of the Black Ink Clansmen were valueless, but the Humans couldn’t afford to lose their men.
Several decades ago, Yang Kai had taken part in the North-South Army’s fight against the Black Ink Clan. During that battle, he led two elite Squads of the North-South Army, using his Golden Crow Casts the Sun to cut a swath through the enemy ranks. As they dashed around the battlefield, they destroyed many Black Ink Clansmen to tip the balance in the Humans’ favour.
What the East-West Army was doing on this day was basically the same.
With that said, the scale of things was significantly larger than back then.
At that time, Yang Kai led two Special Operations Squads on his own, but this time, all the soldiers of the East-West Army were taking action together, so it was tremendously more effective overall.
The Territory Lords were dumbfounded.
They initially thought that the Eighth-Order Open Heaven Realm Masters would target them and head to another battlefield to engage in a life-or-death struggle; however, it now seemed that the Eighth-Order Open Heaven Realm Masters didn’t have such an intention as they steadfastly guarded the periphery of the fleet.
If the fleet of Warships sailed by the Humans was compared to a Grand Dragon, the Eighth-Order Open Heaven Realm Masters were like its scales. All the Human soldiers had formed into a horrifying force.
After Old Ancestor Xiao Xiao stirred up chaos, the Black Ink Clan’s formation had already collapsed. Although they had tried to reorganise themselves, it was not effective.
Following the exchange of moves with the Humans, their formation was broken up again.
Wherever the Human Warships went, the Black Ink Clansmen were powerless to resist.
Although the powerful Black Ink Masters had repeatedly made a move, their attacks were blocked by the Eighth-Order Division Commanders and the Warships themselves. There was nothing they could do to achieve a breakthrough.
In just a while, the Grand Dragon formed from Human Warships had torn the battlefield apart. The body of the Grand Dragon had surrounded about two hundred thousand Black Ink Clansmen.
A bombardment of attacks rained from the Warships and struck the Black Ink Clansmen who had been isolated.
More and more of them continuously lost their lives.
Suddenly, there came a moment when a blade light slashed across the void from the head of the fleet. Upon impact, the aura of a Territory Lord soon dissipated.
The blade light came from Xiang Shan, who was leading the charge.
When the blade light slashed out earlier, both Humans and the Black Ink Clan felt a crawling sensation on their scalps.
On the deck of Dawning Light, Yang Kai was amazed.
He had already heard that Xiang Shan was significantly more powerful than other Eighth-Order Open Heaven Realm Masters. When Xiang Shan was still the Army Commander of Blue Sky Pass back then, the Territory Lords would have their expressions changed drastically upon hearing his name.
It was said that 7 Territory Lords were killed by him in the past.
Of course, that was just a rumour and Yang Kai had never seen Xiang Shan make a move like this before.
It wasn’t until this day that he finally witnessed the man’s full strength.
Xiang Shan could kill a Territory Lord with a single slash. Yang Kai didn’t think any other Eighth-Order Open Heaven Realm Masters were capable of doing that.
Although it clearly wasn’t easy for Xiang Shan to use such an attack, and the Territory Lord, who was surrounded by the fleet of Warships, must be flustered, it went to show that he was truly formidable.
After the attack, the Battalion Class Warship changed directions and led the fleet to break through the siege and head back to the forward base.
The other Warships had no choice but to follow. The arrangements they had made this time could only allow them to launch a lightning strike. If the battle dragged on, the Black Ink Clan would be able to reorganize and mount a proper counterattack. By then, the Human Army would be stuck in this quagmire.
More importantly, the powerful Black Ink Clan Masters could deal with their strategy just by targeting a specific spot of the fleet.
The enemy hadn’t thought of it because they were currently flustered, and the battlefield was in chaos, so it was hard for them to unite at the moment. However, as time passed, the Territory Lords would realise this easy method to hit back.
In fact, the Territory Lords had already regained their senses. Following Che Kong’s order, the Territory Lords were ready to rally together and launch an attack on the Human Warships.
On the other hand, the Black Ink Clansmen on the right side of the Royal City had already started intercepting the Universe Worlds, so their hands would soon be untied.
When the Black Ink Clansmen came over from the right side, the Humans would have to deal with even more enemies.
Therefore, Xiang Shan promptly decided that they had to retreat after gaining some advantage.
Perhaps the Territory Lords were wary of Xiang Shan’s power, so it was easier than what the Humans had imagined when they broke through the siege.
Nevertheless, the Black Ink Clan didn’t seem to have the intention of letting the Humans go so easily. As the Warships retreated, the Black Ink Clan relentlessly pursued them.
However, the Humans knew that they would be vulnerable when withdrawing, and after dealing such a blow to the Black Ink Clan, the latter would surely be out for blood.
The Black Ink Clan soldiers raced after the Humans and bombarded the Warships with a series of attacks.
Faced with the Black Ink Clan’s assault, the Battalion Class Warships circle back from the periphery to guard the rear of the fleet, forming a protective screen against the enemy’s assault.
It wasn’t until the Humans were 10 million kilometres away from the Royal City that the Black Ink Clan stopped pursuing them.
The Black Ink Clansmen wouldn’t dare to keep chasing after the Humans, for they were not certain if they had any hidden trump cards to play. If the Humans launched a sneak attack on the Black Ink Nest when the Black Ink Clansmen were not around, they would be doomed.
Therefore, despite his unwillingness, Che Kong still ordered them to stop their pursuit. As he watched the Human Warships leave, his face contorted with fury.
It was rare that a battle between the two Races of such a scale had ended so quickly.
The reason the Humans could achieve it was that they had to obey the leaders’ command no matter what.
Wherever Xiang Shan was, that was where the fleet of Warships would be heading; therefore, the moment his Battalion Class Warship started retreating, the other Warships followed suit without hesitation.
There hadn’t really been any grand strategies used in this battle, they simply relied on the excellent leadership of their Commanders, the collaboration between several tens of thousands of soldiers, and a bit of luck.
Only one hour had passed from the time the two Armies clashed to the time the Humans withdrew 10 million kilometres from the Royal City.
However, in just one hour, the Humans had managed to cause the same number of casualties to the Black Ink Clan as the total number of casualties for the past 20 years.
There were even more casualties if they included what the Old Ancestor had done to the Black Ink Clan earlier; after all, three Eighth-Order Black Ink Disciples were killed by the Old Ancestor, and even more of them were injured.
Although the Black Ink Clan had suffered immense losses, it didn’t mean no Humans were killed.
Under Xiang Shan’s leadership, the fleet of Warships had acted like a Dragon that swam across the battlefield in an imposing manner. Nevertheless, the Black Ink Clan was not weak.
The defences of some of the Warships were shattered, and when that happened, the soldiers inside were instantly exposed to danger.
While more and more Black Ink Clansmen were killed on the battlefield, the sound of Small Universes collapsing was also heard.
Casualties were inevitable, especially when one was trying to break through a siege and retreat.
Although the Eighth-Order Open Heaven Realm Masters had brought up the rear on their Battalion Class Warships, they couldn’t possibly ensure everyone’s safety. There were times when they were powerless to save some of the soldiers’ lives.
The Black Ink Clan hadn’t achieved their goal of breaking the Humans with a pursuit from behind, but to the Humans, it was already a huge loss.
It was a price they had to pay though, and the leaders of the East-West Army had already expected such an outcome when they were coming up with this plan.
Regardless, this plan had to be carried out. No war would end with no casualties.
The differences were how many of them were killed, and whether their deaths were meaningful.
The leaders had already done their best to minimise the number of deaths.
From beginning to end, the Battle Formation remained intact, though the shields of many Warships had turned dim and numerous arrays were flashing and flickering.
It was a sign that the arrays were on the verge of breaking.
Yang Kai, who was soaked in black blood, was standing on the deck of Dawning Light. As he looked around, he couldn’t help but feel sorrowful.
The peace in the 3,000 Worlds was in stark contrast to the brutality on the Black Ink Battlefield. The trillions of people back in the 3,000 Worlds didn’t know that so many of the brightest cultivators from the Cave Heavens and Paradises were constantly fighting against the Black Ink Clan on such a battlefield, silently defending their homeland.
Those who were killed on the battlefield would only have their names carved on the Monument of Heroes back in the Great Passes so that their comrades would remember them; however, when their friends and relatives all passed away, only the names would remain. No one would really remember them then.
Just then, Yang Kai caught a whiff of a bodily fragrance as Feng Ying appeared beside him.
He turned to look at her and asked with concern, “Is everyone alright?”
Feng Ying replied, “No one is fatally wounded. Junior Brother Yu suffered some damage to his Small Universe, so it will take him a few years to properly recuperate. One of Junior Brother Ning’s arms was torn off, but he managed to catch it and it’s now reconnected. He’ll be fine after he fully recovers. The others have only suffered some flesh wounds.”
Yang Kai nodded gently.
The Junior Brother Yu that Feng Ying had mentioned was Yu Zi You, who, along with Ren Bing Bai, were the new Seventh-Order Open Heaven Realm Masters that had joined them when the Dawn was expanded before this campaign.
On the other hand, Junior Brother Ning, Ning Zhi Qi, who was from Red Sun Paradise, was a long-time member of Dawn who had been around since the founding of the Squad. He was also one of the Black Ink Disciples that Yang Kai had brought back from the Black Ink Clan’s territory back in the Blue Sky Theatre.
In this war, the Seventh-Order Open Heaven Realm Masters were more severely impacted than the Mid-Rank Open Heaven Realm Masters because they had to move around outside the Warships to directly deal with the enemies. As long as the defences of the Warships weren’t broken, those inside wouldn’t be in any danger.
However, even though the Mid-Rank Open Heaven Realm Masters had the Warships’ protection, once the Warships were damaged, they would be exposed to even greater danger. That was because they were weaker than the High-Rank Open Heaven Realm Masters.
Dawn was a Special Operations Squad; however, in the battle that lasted just one hour on this day, 8 Seventh-Order Open Heaven Realm Masters, including Yang Kai, were all injured. One of Ning Zhi Qi’s arms was even torn off. It went to show how truly perilous this clash had been.
With that said, it was because Dawn was located at the periphery of the fleet; hence, they faced a greater pressure than other Warships during the intense battle.
“I wonder how many people lost their lives,” Feng Ying sighed all of a sudden.
Yang Kai fell silent, for the dead couldn’t be resurrected. All the survivors could do was pay tribute to their sacrifice and move on.
Strictly speaking, the Humans had gained a massive victory today. That was because the number of Black Ink Clansmen was several dozen times greater, but the difference in casualties between both sides was of an even higher ratio.
Despite the landslide victory, no one felt elated when they returned. That was because this was the first real clash between the East-West Army and the Black Ink Clan in the Great Evolution Theatre and there would surely be even more brutal battles in the future. It wouldn’t be too late to celebrate their victory when they finally destroyed all the Black Ink Clan in this place and re-took Great Evolution Pass.
By then, they would also celebrate the occasion on behalf of the deceased.
When they returned to the forward base, the injured started recuperating while the damaged Warships were repaired.
Yang Kai said a few words to the members of Dawn, then headed to the mountain valley on his own. After spreading out his Small Universe, he waited for the Old Ancestor’s return.
This place was a Restricted Area in the forward base, so other than the two Army Commanders, even the other Eighth-Order Open Heaven Realm Masters wouldn’t come here. That was because this was the place the Old Ancestor would come to recuperate for many years to come. No one could disturb her.
Violent energy fluctuations were still felt coming from the depths of the void, and it was apparent that the Old Ancestor and the Royal Lord were still fighting.
More than 10 days later, the fluctuations suddenly stopped.
Noticing this, Yang Kai just waited patiently.
As he had expected, a figure descended from the sky half a day later and touched upon his Small Universe.
A thought flashed through Yang Kai’s mind, and the next instant, the Old Ancestor entered his Small Universe and landed beside him.
The moment she landed on the ground, she almost lost her balance and fell.
Yang Kai promptly supported her weight, only to see that her face was horrifyingly pale, and her clothes were soaked in blood. Some of the blood was red, while some was black.
The red blood naturally belonged to the Old Ancestor, while the black blood was from the Royal Lord.
Needless to say, they were mutually wounded again this time. With that said, it was the outcome that the Old Ancestor had deliberately tried to achieve.
“Here again?” Old Ancestor Xiao Xiao looked up and saw the familiar log house in front of her.
100 years ago, she arrived here in this Small Universe when she turned into a three-year-old child. It was the hunter who picked her up from the log house.
Yang Kai grinned, “I was thinking that it might help with your recuperation when you recall the fond memories you had experienced here. That’s why I’ve chosen this place. If you think it’s not appropriate, we can go somewhere else.”
“It’s fine. I’ll stay here.” Old Ancestor Xiao Xiao waved her hand.
“Alright. I’ll help you inside. Please relax your legs.”
Old Ancestor Xiao Xiao couldn’t help but shoot him a glare. Yang Kai’s words seemed to suggest that she was a frail old person.
Although she was indeed in a terrible state, she was still a Ninth-Order Old Ancestor. Regardless of how horribly injured she was, she didn’t need him to carry her into the house.
As she secretly cursed at this smelly brat, she tripped over the threshold at the door.
After Yang Kai helped Old Ancestor Xiao Xiao take a seat on the bed, he hospitably walked to the side and poured her a cup of water.
The Old Ancestor took the cup and chugged down the water, then asked with a frown, “Don’t you have any tea leaves?”
Yang Kai shrugged, “I’m too lazy to prepare some tea. Please make do with it.”
The Old Ancestor certainly wouldn’t mind it. She tossed the cup back onto the table and let out a breath, “I was too negligent!”
Upon hearing that, Yang Kai furrowed his brows, “Did you suffer a setback?”
Old Ancestor Xiao Xiao shook her head, “Not really. It’s just that there’s something that surprised me.”
Yang Kai asked, “What do you mean?”
With a worried expression, the Old Ancestor replied, “The Royal Lord with wings on his back can make use of his Black Ink Nest to strengthen himself.”
The Humans were not aware of this.
Even Yang Kai, who had pretended to be a Black Ink Disciple and lived in the Black Ink Clan’s territory twice, was unaware of this.
Therefore, upon hearing what the Old Ancestor said, he was shocked, “The Royal Lord can make use of his Black Ink Nest not only to heal, but also to directly strengthen himself?”
The Old Ancestor nodded, “En. Otherwise, I wouldn’t have let him off.”
According to her plan, she would make sure that the Royal Lord would be half-dead this time even if she couldn’t kill him, and she would do the same next time. By repeatedly harassing the Royal Lord, she would eventually take his life one day.
However, the moment they exchanged moves, she realised that the Royal Lord could make use of his Black Ink Nest’s power to increase his own strength, and not by just a small amount either.
Yang Kai soon realised something, “Is that why you suddenly fell into a disadvantage not long after you clashed with the Royal Lord, even though you initially had the upper hand?”
When the Old Ancestor exchanged moves with the Royal Lord, Yang Kai was on the deck of Dawning Light, so he could see what was going on above the Royal City. Although he couldn’t clearly see the battle as he was too far away from the Royal City, he was aware that the Old Ancestor was at an advantage at the start of the battle.
Old Ancestor Xiao Xiao nodded. Honestly, she was astounded when she realised that the Royal Lord’s power had surged all of a sudden, for such information was not available to them in the past.
Although the Humans had been at war with the Black Ink Clan on the Black Ink Battlefield for countless years, they knew very little about their enemy because the Black Ink Strength was irresolvable previously.
It was Yang Kai who found out that the transmission of information was convenient between the Black Ink Nests.
“Is that why you pretended that you hadn’t fully recovered and held back some of your power?” Yang Kai asked.
Old Ancestor Xiao Xiao was slightly surprised, “You noticed?”
When Old Ancestor Xiao Xiao was injured, she could make use of Yang Kai’s Small Universe to speed up her recuperation. On the other hand, the Royal Lord had his Black Ink Nest, so it could be said that both of them had an external aid in this regard.
However, in comparison, the Humans were already aware that the Royal Lords could use their Black Ink Nests to help with their recuperation, while the Black Ink Clan did not know that Old Ancestor Xiao Xiao had a similar advantage.
This simple disparity of information could be used to trick the Black Ink Clan.
From the Royal Lord’s perspective, it had only been some 30 years since he started using the Black Ink Nest to help with his recuperation, and he hadn’t fully recovered. Needless to say, the Old Ancestor had to be recuperating as well.
However, on this day, Old Ancestor Xiao Xiao appeared out of nowhere and launched an attack on the Royal City; moreover, she appeared to be at the peak of her power. This made the Royal Lord feel puzzled as he wondered how the Old Ancestor managed to recover so quickly; therefore, the moment they exchanged moves, he was taken aback.
Old Ancestor Xiao Xiao’s plan was simple, which was to make use of the fact that she had fully recovered to continuously suppress the Royal Lord.
While she had fully recovered, the Royal Lord was still wounded. If nothing unexpected happened, she could exacerbate the Royal Lord’s wounds after the fight.
Then, she would come back and seek Yang Kai’s help. When her wounds had healed, she would look for the Royal Lord for their next fight.
By repeatedly doing so, she believed that the Royal Lord wouldn’t be able to take it anymore after 100 years as his wounds would never heal properly. In the middle of his recovery, he would be injured by Old Ancestor Xiao Xiao again, which would exacerbate his condition as the days went by. In such a way, there would come a day when he would be defeated by her.
By then, Old Ancestor Xiao Xiao could easily take him down without worrying that he would use some kind of Secret Technique that could drag her down with him; however, the moment she realised that the Royal Lord could make use of the Black Ink Nest to strengthen himself, she knew that her plan wouldn’t work.
The Royal Lord indeed hadn’t recovered, but with the Black Ink Nest’s help, he could still display stunning power.
Old Ancestor Xiao Xiao could even feel that as long as they fought near the Royal City, she would be at a disadvantage even if she went all out.
Hence, upon that realisation, she decided to hold back some of her strength and pretend that she was still wounded.
Such a sudden change might have exposed her real condition, but to the Royal Lord, that was the way it should be, so the risks were minimal.
After the previous battle, they were mutually wounded. Only 30 or so years had passed, and he was still recuperating, so how was it possible that the Old Ancestor had fully recovered?
Then, the Old Ancestor decided on the spot to raise chaos on both sides of the Royal City.
Since she was unable to kill the Royal Lord, she decided to deal with the Black Ink Clan soldiers to create a chance for the East-West Army to slaughter the enemy.
In fact, in order to make a scene on both sides of the Royal City, the Old Ancestor had to pay a huge price. When she was dealing with the third Black Ink Disciple, she was directly struck by the Royal Lord’s attack. For the rest of the battle, she had to suppress her pain to made sure that no one noticed.
Then, she decided to lure the Royal Lord away so that the latter couldn’t keep drawing energy from the Black Ink Nest.
When she reached the depths of the void and exchanged moves with the Royal Lord, she still held back some of her power to feign weakness and injury. In the end, the two top Masters fought an intense, but not life-threatening battle.
That was the reason she managed to retain her original form when she returned.
One had to know that when she came back to the forward base previously, she immediately turned into a three-year-old child, and it wasn’t until much later that she regained her consciousness.
It could be said that she was already in a better state this time.
“I thought I’d concealed it well. It never crossed my mind that you’d figured it out.” The Old Ancestor thought that it was such a shame.
Yang Kai chuckled, “I was fully aware of your condition because you recuperated in my Small Universe; however, the Royal Lord definitely wouldn’t have noticed, so you don’t have to worry about it.”
“You have a point.” The Old Ancestor nodded lightly, “Now, it seems that the Black Ink Nests do not only help the Black Ink Clan cultivate and heal, but they can also empower them as long as they are nearby.”
Knowing what she was trying to say, Yang Kai asked, “Are you worried about Great Evolution Pass?”
The Old Ancestor nodded, “There are Black Ink Nests in Great Evolution Pass, so I suppose they might be able to help the Territory Lords strengthen themselves. Send a message to them and tell them to be careful and not invade Great Evolution Pass when they see an opportunity.”
Upon receiving the order, Yang Kai replied, “Understood. I will report it to the Army Commanders.”
“I’m exhausted, so I’ll start healing now.” Upon finishing her words, Old Ancestor Xiao Xiao sat down on the bed with her legs crossed.
The next instant, her figure started shrinking. Barely several breaths of time later, she transformed from an adult to a young child that appeared some seven or eight years old.
She looked just like the young girl in the Marketplace in Yin-Yang Pass when Yang Kai saw her for the first time.
It suggested that she was indeed in a better state than last time.
Since the Old Ancestor had to recuperate, Yang Kai left the log house respectfully.
At the entrance of the valley where Yang Kai had spread out his Small Universe, two Seventh-Order Open Heaven Realm Masters, who were responsible for standing guard, exchanged glances as they had received a message from Yang Kai via Divine Sense.
One of them nodded, “I’ll inform the Army Commanders about it now.”
A moment later, aboard the Purifying Black Ink Battleship, Xiang Shan, Liu Zhi Ping, and the others listened to the report from the Seventh-Order Master. It was only then that they learned that the Black Ink Clan could use their Black Ink Nests to strengthen themselves in combat.
Then, they promptly told someone to head to Great Evolution Pass to share this piece of information with the North-South Army.
Although the North-South Army wasn’t supposed to launch an attack on Great Evolution Pass, they still had to immediately share such information with them. However, since it was a long journey, it would be at least a month later when the North-South Army received this intel.
After the East-West Army’s first clash with the Black Ink Clan in the Great Evolution Theatre, they went on to coexist peacefully for the next 20 years.
During this period of time, the Humans never made a move. They had also stopped harassing the Black Ink Clan with Universe Worlds.
This silence only made the leaders of the Black Ink Clan feel ill at ease.
That was because it suggested that the Humans were trying to accumulate enough strength before launching an even more violent assault than last time.
The Territory Lords had the urge to take the initiative and launch an attack on the Humans; however, the Royal Lord had given an order, so they wouldn’t dare to make a rash move.
In the beginning, with Che Kong as the leader, some of the Territory Lords still thought that it was better to defend the Royal City than to launch an attack.
Nevertheless, as time passed, even Che Kong felt that he had made a mistake by being too conservative.
He should have derailed the Humans’ plan before they gained a strong foothold. Now that the Humans had set up a forward base, and the Royal Lord was badly injured, there wasn’t a chance for the Black Ink Clan to initiate an attack.
It was too late now though, so they could only obey the Royal Lord’s order and defend the Royal City at all costs.
No war broke out on the East-West Army’s side for 20 years.
On the other hand, over the past 20 years, the North-South Army had clashed with the Black Ink Clan in Great Evolution Pass on several occasions.
There were about 700,000 Black Ink Clansmen in Great Evolution Pass, including more than 20 Territory Lords and about 50 Eighth-Order Black Ink Disciples. It was a force to be reckoned with.
The Black Ink Clan had made countless arrangements in Great Evolution Pass over the last 30,000 years, and given their collective power, it wasn’t hard for them to deal with a mere 30,000 Human soldiers.
The North-South Army had never shown any intention of attacking Great Evolution Pass. Be it the irritable Ou Yang Lie or the measured Mi Jing Lun, they both knew that it was no different from asking for death if they tried to assault Great Evolution Pass in such a situation.
The Humans had limited manpower, so they couldn’t afford to suffer any unnecessary losses; therefore, the North-South Army had set up camp about two days journey from Great Evolution Pass, just close enough to monitor the situation and ensure they could intercept any Black Ink Clansmen that tried to leave the Great Pass.
This made the Black Ink Clansmen feel vexed.
After the battle at the Royal City 20 years ago, the Black Ink Clansmen in Great Evolution Pass realised that they couldn’t keep hiding in this place to enjoy the temporary peace. Once the Royal City was destroyed, they couldn’t possibly stay safe in Great Evolution Pass.
Therefore, after the Black Ink Clansmen learned about the battle, they began trying to leave Great Evolution Pass and head to the Royal City to provide reinforcements.
Given the fact that there were 700,000 Black Ink Clan soldiers, more than 20 Territory Lords, and about 50 Eighth-Order Black Ink Disciples, if they went all out, the Humans would not be able to stop them.
However, if they really did that, it would be akin to giving up Great Evolution Pass.
Certainly, Territory Lord Hong Di wouldn’t agree to it; after all, his Black Ink Nest was located in Great Evolution Pass, so this place was practically his domain.
As such, over the years, the Black Ink Clansmen had been trying to come up with a solution to this problem. On one hand, they had to retain control of Great Evolution Pass, on the other hand, they had to send some people to the Royal City to help their clansmen.
For this reason, these Black Ink Clan in Great Evolution Pass would try to circumvent the North-South Army and head to the Royal City every few years.
Their first attempt took place half a year after the battle broke out in the Royal City.
That time, they had sent about 400,000 Black Ink Clan soldiers with more than 10 Territory Lords leading the way. They decided to set off on their journey from the back of Great Evolution Pass, even though that meant they had to make a large detour.
The number of the Black Ink Clansmen was the outcome of the Territory Lords’ discussion. This number was neither big nor small, but they would be of great help to their clansmen if they managed to reach the Royal City while those that had stayed back were sufficient to protect Great Evolution Pass.
However, the Humans discovered their plan.
Moreover, they seemed to have already expected it as they despicably set up a lot of Spirit Arrays on the universe fragments where the Black Ink Clansmen would have to pass by.
When the Black Ink Clan Army arrived at the area that was full of those universe fragments, they were caught off guard by the Spirit Arrays that exploded all around them.
The Human soldiers, who were supposedly two days journey from Great Evolution Pass, suddenly appeared from the depths of the void. The auras of dozens of Eighth-Order Open Heaven Realm Masters formed into a horrifying pressure and made them feel suffocated.
Before both parties even clashed, the Black Ink Clansmen had lost their will to fight. That was because they had already suffered a huge setback in the previous battle with the Humans.
Their exchange of moves this time couldn’t be considered intense and the Black Ink Clansmen had no choice but to retreat back to Great Evolution Pass.
The North-South Army didn’t go all out or initiate a pursuit this time, so both parties didn’t suffer any major losses.
After that, the North-South Army and the Black Ink Clan skirmished on several occasions, each time only testing each other out as the leaders of both parties acted with restraint.
The longest fight they ever had only lasted for half a day, after which they respectively retreated. The shortest fight only lasted a cup of tea’s time.
During these clashes, perhaps 10,000 Black Ink Clansmen would lose their lives while it was rare of any Humans to be killed.
After years of confrontation, the Black Ink Clansmen finally came to the realisation that they could not leave Great Evolution Pass and head to the Royal City to help their clansmen before they could destroy the Human Army at their doorstep.
Given such a situation, they could only keep on confronting one another and wait for any turn of events in the Royal City.
That change soon happened.
20 years had passed in the outside world, but the Old Ancestor, who had recuperated in Yang Kai’s Small Universe for the past 80 years, had fully recovered once again.
The injury that Old Ancestor Xiao Xiao had suffered from was less severe this time, so it was easier for her to recover; however, this time, she only wandered around within Yang Kai’s Small Universe, unlike the previous time when she experienced a kind of life she never had.
Therefore, it took her 80 years before she could fully recover.
The moment the Old Ancestor was done recuperating, the Humans mobilised again.
20 years had passed in the outside world. Other than getting some rest, the East-West Army had also been preparing for the next battle so that when the Old Ancestor recovered, they could launch an attack on the Royal City.
Now, the time had come.
After an order was passed down, 16 Universe Worlds that had been properly set up began accelerating from somewhere deep in the void and headed straight to the Royal City.
In the meantime, the Human Warships started rising into the sky from the back of the forward base.
Meanwhile, the Old Ancestor flew out towards the Royal City on her own.
This time, she didn’t take action along with the Army; instead, she decided to take the initiative to leave the forward base first.
The same method wouldn’t work twice, so the Old Ancestor decided to do something different this time and catch the Black Ink Clan off guard.
The Black Ink Clansmen from the Royal City had been closely monitoring the Humans’ forward base; however, the enemy had not made a move for the past 20 years.
The Humans’ inaction made them feel ill at ease, as though there was an invisible blade hanging above their heads. The suspense made them feel distressed.
When the Human Warships circled around the forward base and appeared in the void, the Feudal Lords, who were responsible for monitoring the situation, instantly noticed it.
They promptly reported it to their higher-ups, and the news soon reached Che Kong.
He stepped out of the cabin of his large ship and looked out from the deck. The Human Warships were indeed approaching them from a distance.
Without hesitation, he said to the female Territory Lord, who had been following him, “Keep monitoring the Human soldiers. I’ll return to the Royal City to awaken the Royal Lord!”
The Royal Lord had previously suffered a loss because of the Old Ancestor’s sneak attack; therefore, when he returned, he told Che Kong that, when the Humans invaded the Royal City next time, the latter had to immediately wake him so that he wouldn’t be caught off guard again.
He wouldn’t have given such an order if he had a choice, as no Black Ink Clansman was willing to be forcefully awakened when they were recuperating, for this would be disruptive to their recovery. This was especially true for a Royal Lord.
Nevertheless, such drawbacks were inconsequential compared to the possibility of the Old Ancestor launching a sneak attack on him again; after all, when the Old Ancestor struck, the Royal Lord would immediately awaken anyway. Hence, he would rather let his subordinate wake him up first so that he could get prepared.
Certainly, Che Kong wouldn’t dare to disobey the Royal Lord’s order.
However, since the Human Warships had just taken off, it would take them at least half a day before they would reach the Royal City; therefore, he reckoned that he wouldn’t have to wake the Royal Lord in a hurry.
After he spoke to the female Territory Lord, Che Kong immediately headed to the Royal City.
Nevertheless, not long after he left, he abruptly turned around.
A dangerous aura was rapidly approaching, one that caused Che Kong and the female Territory Lord’s expressions to change drastically.
The Old Ancestor was already on her way!
This was something they had never anticipated as they all thought that the Old Ancestor would take action along with the Human Army, so it surprised them that she had made a move first. By the time they realised that the Human soldiers were mobilizing, the Old Ancestor had already arrived near the Royal City.
With no time to mull over what the Old Ancestor was up to, Che Kong roared, “Enemy attack!”
The next instant, a phantom-like figure crashed into the Black Ink Clan soldiers who were just outside the Royal City. As her violent World Force surged, the entire void seemed to be boiling as though a burning piece of iron had fallen into cold water.
When one of the most powerful Human cultivators flared up at the Black Ink Clan soldiers, ignoring her status completely, the damage she could cause was catastrophic.
It was because there was practically no one who could stop her. Without the Royal Lord around, even the Territory Lords and the Eighth-Order Black Ink Disciples were at risk of losing their lives.
Thousands of Black Ink Clansmen lost their lives every breath. With the petite figure as the centre, the Black Ink Clansmen around her melted away like snowflakes under the scorching Sun.
Many Feudal Lords, and even some Territory Lords and Eighth-Order Black Ink Disciples lost their lives to this sneak attack.
In just 10 breaths, some 50,000 Black Ink Clansmen had been slaughtered.
The Black Ink Clan’s formation had descended into chaos as the Black Ink Clansmen instinctively cast their Secret Techniques at the figure, but their attempts were all futile. More often than not, they accidentally injured their own allies rather than hitting the enemy.
Some of the Black Ink Clansmen were killed by their own clansmen instead of the Old Ancestor, which was quite miserable.
10 breaths of time was all it took for many Black Ink Clansmen to be laid to rest forever.
Meanwhile, the same amount of time was sufficient for the Royal Lord to come to his senses.
The Old Ancestor’s power had burst forth just outside the Royal City; therefore, the Royal Lord could clearly sense it even though he was in a state of deep slumber.
Before the Old Ancestor could cause more chaos and casualties to the Black Ink Clan, the Royal Lord furiously shot out of the Royal City, his form engulfed in thick Black Ink Strength. Infuriated, he went all out and struck at Old Ancestor Xiao Xiao, forcing her back.
A hint of redness flashed through her fair face, but it soon disappeared. Hovering in the void, she stared at the Royal Lord from a distance. Her alluring eyes seemed able to see through the Black Ink Strength and take in the fury and puzzlement behind the Royal Lord’s gaze.
The Royal Lord was indeed furious and puzzled.
He was furious because only 20 years had passed, but this insane woman came to harass him again, interrupting his healing just like last time.
On the other hand, he wondered if all Humans were so crazy. He was certain that this woman hadn’t fully recovered as during their exchange just now, he could clearly sense some fluctuations in her aura.
Certainly, he couldn’t exclude the possibility that the other party was hiding her true power; however, that was practically impossible.
With the help of his Black Ink Nest, he had only healed some 30% of his injuries over the last 20 years. This Old Ancestor, whose Secret Art was unique and had far harsher conditions to satisfy, had to be in an even more terrible state.
She had provoked him twice when she was still injured. Apparently, while she was in a horrible state, she also wouldn’t let her opponent enjoy any peaceful days. Why was she so crazy?
Although they were mutually wounded in the last two fights, that didn’t mean they couldn’t still fight. However, if she kept doing this, their foundations would be damaged even though they were respectively a Royal Lord and a Ninth-Order Open Heaven Realm Master.
As he looked at the woman before his eyes, the image of the Ninth-Order Open Heaven Realm Master, who was in command of Great Evolution Pass 30,000 years ago, sprang to his mind.
That person was equally mad; otherwise, he wouldn’t have managed to drag the previous Royal Lord down with him even after suffering a severe wound due to a sneak attack.
It seemed that the Humans were indeed a horrifying Race.
These two most powerful Masters stared at each other from a distance. Although there wasn’t an exchange of words or moves, the silent pressure made the Black Ink Clan soldiers too terrified to say anything.
Gazing at the Old Ancestor, the Royal Lord asked, “What’s the point of doing all this?”
Although his question lacked any kind of context, the Old Ancestor understood what he meant.
He felt that since both of them were injured, they should recuperate on their own and let the subordinates fight with one another. The result would be dependent on their subordinates’ strength, and they shouldn’t interfere.
That would be fairer for both sides.
What was the point of her provoking the Royal Lord when she was still injured? They would just end up being mutually wounded again, and none of them would gain any advantage.
Upon hearing that, Xiao Xiao put on a smile, “Humans are weak, so we have no choice but to act a little crazy. As an Old Ancestor, I naturally have to put in more effort.”
Including this time, she had exchanged moves with the Royal Lord thrice, but it was the first time they had spoken to one another. The previous times, they directly clashed with one another without any attempt to communicate.
The reason she was even willing to talk to him was that the East-West Army was still on its way. If she could stall for time, it would be helpful for the Humans who were planning to attack.
As long as she was around, the Black Ink Clansmen, whose formation had been disrupted, wouldn’t be able to effectively reorganise themselves.
The Royal Lord lowered his gaze, “Since you know that Humans are weak, why don’t you pledge loyalty to the Black Ink Clan? The Humans are destined to be ruled by the Black Ink Clan one day. You’re one of the most powerful of the Humans, so I’m sure you’re aware of it.”
Old Ancestor Xiao Xiao snorted, “Stop boasting shamelessly! What makes you think the Black Ink Clan will rule over the Humans one day? Since time immemorial, the Black Ink Clan has never been able to step out of the Black Ink Battlefield. As long as Humans still live, we will never let you succeed.”
The Royal Lord shook his head, “How obstinate!”
Old Ancestor Xiao Xiao refuted, “We can never see eye to eye.”
The Royal Lord stopped persuading her as he turned to look at the Human Warships that were sailing towards the Royal City from a distance. He then suggested by saying, “For today’s war, why don’t we watch from the sides and not interfere?”
Honestly, even though he could derive energy from his Black Ink Nest, he wasn’t willing to fight with her today.
That was because he hadn’t recovered. Although he wouldn’t be at a disadvantage by making use of the Black Ink Nest’s power, it would slow down his recovery considerably. Moreover, he didn’t have the confidence to kill this woman, so the end result would only be a massive loss of resources and more wounds on his body.
If he had the confidence to win, he would have directly made a move instead of talking to her.
Although they had only exchanged moves a few times, he had come to realise that she was a difficult opponent to deal with.
Upon hearing his suggestion, Old Ancestor Xiao Xiao shook her head, “No. Since I’m here, I’ll not watch the fight and do nothing.”
The Royal Lord snapped, “Don’t go too far!”
He had already conceded quite a bit to her by suggesting that they wouldn’t have a hand in the battle on this day; after all, before he left the Black Ink Nest, Old Ancestor Xiao Xiao had killed several tens of thousands of Black Ink Clansmen, including some Territory Lords and Eighth-Order Black Ink Disciples.
He had decided not to settle accounts with her over this insult, but this woman still wouldn’t agree to it.
That was the reason he was enraged.
The next instant, a puff of Black Ink Strength appeared beside Old Ancestor Xiao Xiao. The Black Ink Strength turned into a contorted face as it howled in silence.
Although the howl was silent, it was as though it could penetrate a person’s mind and cause them to fall into a state of restlessness. Even an Eighth-Order Open Heaven Realm Master would freeze for a moment after getting struck.
It was apparently the Royal Lord’s move.
The instant the strange Secret Technique was cast, the Royal Lord charged towards Old Ancestor Xiao Xiao and pushed his palm.
Old Ancestor Xiao Xiao sneered, “You said we should just watch from the sides, but you didn’t hesitate to make a move. You’re indeed a typical Royal Lord, aren’t you?”
The Royal Lord snorted, “Since you’ve already turned me down, all that’s left to do is fight!”
This Royal Lord was a decisive person.
He wasn’t lying when he suggested that both of them should not interfere in the battle today. If Old Ancestor Xiao Xiao had agreed to it, both of them would have kept their word.
For powerful beings like them, even a simple promise could affect their fates; hence, it wouldn’t do them any good if they broke their word.
However, the moment the Royal Lord was rejected by Old Ancestor Xiao Xiao, he directly cast his Secret Technique. It was apparent that he was well-prepared from the start.
Just like what he had said, since his suggestion was rejected, there was no choice but to fight.
As the two clashed, Che Kong and the other Territory Lords felt extremely frustrated, for the same scenario that happened 20 years ago repeated itself.
Back then, the two top Masters clashed with one another among the Black Ink Clan soldiers, causing many deaths and throwing their formation into disarray. As a result, they were at a huge disadvantage when they were forced to deal with the Human Army immediately after.
20 years later, things were playing out exactly the same way.
Fortunately, after the previous experience, the Territory Lords had come up with a plan to deal with this situation.
After ordering their subordinates to back off, the more powerful Black Ink Masters gathered together and charged the Old Ancestor in order to assist the Royal Lord.
Again, Old Ancestor Xiao Xiao cast the Secret Technique that brought forth Yin and Yang from Chaos. The next instant, the void was covered with a giant Yin-Yang Fish.
Even with the help of this Secret Technique though, her momentum still appeared weaker than 20 years ago.
Only a moment had passed since the beginning of the battle, but she had already been struck several times and her World Force trembled as a result.
Fortunately, those strikes were from the Territory Lords and Eighth-Order Black Ink Disciples, which was still bearable for the Old Ancestor. If she had been struck by the Royal Lord, she would have fallen into a terrible state.
This sight confirmed the Royal Lord’s suspicions. This woman indeed hadn’t recovered; in fact, her injuries had worsened after she repeatedly provoked him.
As a result, she appeared weaker than she was previously.
On the other hand, even though the Royal Lord was also still wounded, he could make use of his Black Ink Nest to strengthen himself as long as he was still close to the Royal City. Moreover, most of the burden had been lifted off his shoulders as he had the help of many Territory Lords and Eighth-Order Black Ink Disciples.
After exchanging moves for a while, Old Ancestor Xiao Xiao concluded that this couldn’t drag on, or her situation would grow increasingly perilous; therefore, she launched a feint before dashing out of the battlefield and heading towards the depths of the void.
The Territory Lords and Eighth-Order Black Ink Disciples stopped in their tracks, but after hesitating for a moment, the Royal Lord decided to pursue her.
He hesitated to give chase at first because his only real goal was to drive the Old Ancestor away. Since he had achieved this, he could just stay near the Royal City.
However, he knew that if he didn’t keep an eye on that woman, she might launch a sneak attack on his Army.
To be safe, he decided to tie her down. That was because he was certain that if he didn’t do that, this shameless woman would definitely target his subordinates who were guarding the right side of the Royal City.
When that happened, he would still have to confront her, so he figured it was better to just keep an eye on her from the start.
Despite knowing that the Old Ancestor was intentionally trying to lure him away from the Royal City so that he couldn’t derive energy from his Black Ink Nest, the Royal Lord had no other choice but to play along.
In such a situation, he had the confidence to suppress the other party even without his Black Ink Nest’s help; after all, he had the advantage regarding recuperation.
Nevertheless, he was annoyed by the woman who repeatedly provoked him. He decided that he would teach her a lesson this time even if he had to pay a steep price.
Che Kong let out a breath, for the two menaces had finally left.
With that said, the matter wasn’t over. The Human Army was still closing in on the Royal City. Although there wasn’t any anomaly on the right side of the Royal City, the Black Ink Clan knew that Universe Worlds had to be coming at them based on past experiences.
Therefore, the Black Ink Clansmen on both sides of the Royal City could only reorganise themselves and stay alert.
When the Humans were close enough to the Royal City half a day later, the battle broke out.
The Humans still used the same tactic. With the Eighth-Order Open Heaven Realm Masters’ protection, the fleet of Warships turned into a long Dragon as the Warships flew in tight formation. Under Xiang Shan’s leadership, the Dragon freely flew around the battlefield.
The Black Ink Clan soldiers performed better than the previous time.
Che Kong had a talent for leading an Army, especially when it came to defence. Although the Black Ink Clan had suffered a setback previously, Che Kong racked his brain and finally came up with a way to resolve this tactic.
In fact, he had already thought of this solution before the previous battle ended; however, before he could organize his troops, the Humans had retreated. Despite having a solution, he was unable to destroy the Human Army.
This was a good chance for him. If Che Kong could use this method to destroy the Dragon formed from Warships, the Humans would be the ones who suffered a loss this time.
The solution he had come up with exploited the biggest shortcoming of this tactic that the Humans used.
Because the fleet of Warships was in such a close formation, all Eighth-Order Open Heaven Realm Masters had to scatter around the periphery, thus serving as the Scales to provide the best protection.
Since they were scattered around though, they were unable to gather their strength together.
The Black Ink Clan just had to come together and target a particular spot of this Dragon in order to break up this formation. As long as a part of the Dragon was cut off, the fleet of Warships would no longer be able to sail smoothly across the battlefield.
Just as the Human Warships cut across the battlefield as the Dragon entrapped over 100,000 Black Ink Clansmen and slaughtered them, several Territory Lords and more than 10 Eighth-Order Black Ink Disciples secretly moved to one side of the fleet, using thick Black Ink Clouds to cover their tracks.
Soon, the violent attacks from about 20 powerful Masters burst forth in an instant and struck the Battalion-Class Warship closest to them.
A clean-cut woman was standing on the deck of the Battalion Class Warship, a razor-sharp sword in her hand. As she wielded her weapon, the Black Ink Clansmen around her were instantly killed.
She was the Great Evolution Western Army’s Second Division Commander Army, Shu Yin.
Despite being a woman, she was just as powerful as any man of the same Order.
The Territory Lords and Eighth-Order Black Ink Disciples had stealthily approached her ship, and on such a chaotic battlefield, even an Eighth-Order Open Heaven Realm Master like Shu Yin was unable to detect them until they attacked.
As she turned her head, she saw the Heaven-destroying and Earth-shattering attacks coming right at her.
Generally speaking, an Eighth-Order Open Heaven Realm Master was more powerful than a Territory Lord, but there wouldn’t be a huge gap between them. At this moment, Shu Yin was faced with attacks from nearly 20 Masters in the same Realm as her. Although she had the Battalion Class Warship’s protection, she was unable to ward off such an assault.
The Warship being destroyed and all the people aboard being killed would be the only outcome possible, unless she immediately escaped. If she disregarded the lives of the Human soldiers aboard the Warship, she would stand a chance to survive.
A Territory Lord might run away if they found themselves in such a situation, but an Eighth-Order Master would never do that.
With that said, Shu Yin remained unperturbed. Faced with the fatal attacks, she stabbed her sword down and shouted, “Bind!”
However, the sword didn’t penetrate the deck; instead, it had mysteriously disappeared into the Void. As the sword dissipated, a Grand Array suddenly appeared beneath her feet. The Grand Array almost covered the entire deck as its patterns lit up.
At the same time, all Eighth-Order Open Heaven Realm Masters aboard the Battalion Class Warships around the long Dragon seemed to have detected something and they promptly formed different hand seals as World Forces surged around them.
Grand Arrays with the same patterns as those aboard Shu Yin’s Warship illuminated these Eighth-Order Open Heaven Realm Masters.
All these Eighth-Order Open Heaven Realm Masters shouted, “Set!”
At that instant, dozens of these Battalion-Class Warships around the Dragon became linked to one another through a mysterious force.
With a dispassionate expression, Shu Yin stood at the bow of the Warship like a flag. Faced with the horrifying attacks from the enemies, she remained calm and collected.
As the Territory Lords and Eighth-Order Black Ink Disciples watched in shock, the attacks, which should have reduced the Battalion Class Warship to dust and torn apart the Human formation, did not yield any meaningful results.
A brilliant light barrier condensed around Shu Yin’s Battalion Class Warship, one that appeared delicate, as though it would be shattered with a single touch; however, the moment the attacks struck the barrier, only a series of ripples were formed while the shield held strong.
Three breaths of time later, the impact of the attacks dissipated. Shu Yin’s Battalion Class Warship left along with the Dragon, leaving behind the puzzled Territory Lords and Eighth-Order Black Ink Disciples as they exchanged glances.
“A Grand Array!” An Eighth-Order Black Ink Disciple suddenly said, “They used some kind of Grand Array to synchronize and link all the Warships of those Eighth-Order Masters together so they could share the burden of our attacks together.”
Another Eighth-Order Black Ink Disciple lamented, “It seems that the Humans have invented some new things over the past 30,000 years.”
Before they were corrupted by Black Ink Strength, they had never heard that the Humans could use such a Grand Array; this was clearly invented after they became Black Ink Disciples.
The defensive strength of this Grand Array was all but impenetrable. Although some 20 Masters had joined forces, they still couldn’t break this shield. It seemed that only the Royal Lord would be able to achieve that.
The Battalion Class Warships of those Eighth-Order Open Heaven Realm Masters already served as the Dragon Scales of the fleet, capable of fending off most of the Black Ink Clan’s attacks independently. With such a Grand Array connecting them now, their defence had become even sturdier.
Faced with such a fleet of Warships, the Black Ink Clansmen had no idea what they could do.
“Stop dawdling and come up with a solution!” A Territory Lord harshly snapped at them. Although Eighth-Order Black Ink Disciples were fairly powerful, they were no different than slaves in front of these Territory Lords.
The Eighth-Order Black Ink Disciple who was the first to speak earlier bent his back, “Don’t worry about it, Sir. The more powerful the Array is, the more restrictions it has. If I’m not mistaken, those Eighth-Order Masters are no longer able to easily make a move after activating such a Spirit Array. In other words, they can only defend, but not attack.”
“Are you serious?” The Territory Lord’s eyes brightened when he heard that. In that case, it would be very good news to the Black Ink Clan as a lot of casualties on their side could be avoided. One had to know that those Eighth-Order Open Heaven Realm Masters could easily kill a massive number of Black Ink Clansmen.
As the Territory Lord looked up, he saw that the Eighth-Order Masters were indeed standing on the decks without showing signs of making another move.
He reckoned that the Black Ink Disciple didn’t lie to him. It seemed that the Humans couldn’t have the cake and eat it too, as there was a serious drawback to this new Grand Array.