Martial Peak

Yang Kai did not stop for long at the Star Boundary. He exchanged a few words with Hua Qing Si and released a group of disciples who were ready to reach the Open Heaven Realm from the Void Dao Temple, leaving them under her care. He instructed her on some matters and then left.

After passing through the Territory Gate, he arrived at the neighbouring Great Territory, which was numbered but remained unnamed.

Any Great Territory that was only represented as a number on the Universe Chart was ranked as an extremely low-grade Great Territory. It meant that it did not have any notable Great Force overseeing it. A Great Territory such as this usually had few Universe Worlds and sparse resources. Generally speaking, such a Great Territory was isolated from the rest of the world.

High Heaven Territory was like this in the past. In the whole High Heaven Territory, there were only two habitable Universe Worlds. One was the Star Boundary and the other was the Demon Realm. The strongest Masters were the Great Emperors and Demon Saints. There were no Open Heaven Realm Masters here.

However, since the rise of the Star Boundary as an Open Heaven Realm Cradle, High Heaven Territory made a name for itself.

The neighbouring Great Territory was not so fortunate, but it was the place where the Supreme Headquarters of the Human Race was located. Although the Great Territory was previously unknown and even deserted, it was now vital to the Human Race.

Not only because it was the Great Territory that led directly to the Star Boundary, but also because it connected to more than 10 Great Territory Battlefields.

Just as the Barren Territory was the last barrier to the 3,000 Worlds, this unnamed Great Territory was also the last bulwark for the Human Race today! If the Black Ink Clan breached this place, they would be able to push straight into the heart of Human Territory. When that happened, the Human Race would have no choice but to completely fall back to High Heaven Territory and the New Great Territory.

With the Supreme Headquarters located here, this Great Territory was extremely bustling. No matter which battlefield the soldiers headed to or retreated from, they would transit through this place to rest and repair their equipment. Armies would be assembled here and be dispatched by the Supreme Headquarters as reinforcements to the Great Territory Battlefields on a regular basis.

Looking from afar, there were many Human Race soldiers coming and going in the void and the glimmer of light from their bodies was as bright as stars.

Yang Kai suppressed his aura and rushed to the Universe Fragment where the Supreme Headquarters was located. Without informing anyone, he flew straight to the Main Hall.

Inside the Main Hall, Mi Jing Lun was busy pointing at a Territory Map and a few Seventh-Order Open Heaven Realm Masters who were in charge of transmitting orders nodded as they took careful notes. Yang Kai took a look and found the Territory Map was of Twin Poles Territory.

Noticing Yang Kai’s arrival, Mi Jing Lun looked up and gave him a light nod, signalling him to wait for a moment. Yang Kai made himself at home, found a seat, poured himself a cup of tea, and leisurely sipped it.

After a little more than half an hour, the Seventh-Order Masters were sent away. Mi Jing Lun stood in place in contemplation for several moments before rubbing his forehead. He then walked over to Yang Kai, sat down, and pushed an empty teacup towards him.

Yang Kai picked up the teapot and poured him a cup. Mi Jing Lun heaved a long sigh and downed the tea like he was draining a bottle of wine.

Yang Kai asked, “Things aren’t going well in Twin Poles Territory?”

Mi Jing Lun replied, “The Black Ink Clan has intensified their attack on Twin Poles Territory. They’ve recently gained more Territory Lords and deployed them there, so we are facing some difficulties.”

Turning his head to look at Yang Kai, he asked with a smile, “Why don’t you take a trip there?”

“Impossible!” Yang Kai waved his hand, “I just got back from harassing the Black Ink Clan at the No-Return Pass. If I go to Twin Poles Territory at this time, wouldn’t I be reneging on the agreement?”

“What happened?” Mi Jing Lun raised a brow and asked curiously.

Yang Kai briefly told them about his experience at the No-Return Pass before handing Mi Jing Lun the supplies he had extorted from the Black Ink Clan.

Mi Jing Lun accepted them politely, and after a quick inspection, he exclaimed, “Wow, the Black Ink Clan was really generous to you!”

In his heart, he knew that this was due to Yang Kai’s notorious reputation. If the Black Ink Clan had to choose between losing Territory Lords or resources, they would definitely choose the latter. They could easily recoup the material losses even if they were given away; however, Territory Lords were all valuable assets, and it would not be beneficial to give Yang Kai an excuse to go on a killing spree.

If Mi Jing Lun tried to take advantage of the Black Ink Clan like this, he would have been torn apart by the Royal Lord. Although he became an Eighth-Order Master much earlier than Yang Kai, he had to admit that he was no match for the latter’s strength.

This was a positive development though. The future of the Human Race would only be bright if the future generation could surpass the abilities of the current one.

“A few days ago, there was a report of many Black Ink Nests scattered all over the Great Territories withering for no apparent reason. I figured it was you who went to the No-Return Pass to stir up trouble. From what you had just said, it seems my assumptions were correct.”

There was a precedent for this. Previously, Yang Kai went on a rampage at the No-Return Pass and destroyed seven High-Rank Black Ink Nests. This naturally disrupted the flow of reinforcements to the Black Ink Clan as all the Mid-Rank and Low-Rank Black Ink Nests spawned from those High-Rank Nests were destroyed.

The Human Race was not sure what had happened at the time, but later found out that it was Yang Kai’s doing.

So, when a similar event happened, it was easy for Mi Jing Lun to make a guess.

“The Seventh-Order Open Heaven Realm Masters who returned from the Ancestral Land explained in detail what happened there, and the Small Stone Race Army you provided has also been integrated into our forces.” Mi Jing Lun said solemnly, “Junior Brother, does the Black Ink Clan really have the means to help an Innate Territory Lords become a Royal Lord?”

When they heard this news, many Eighth-Order Open Heaven Realm Masters at the Supreme Headquarters were shocked and decided to block the news immediately to avoid damaging the morale of the Army. It was a pity that Yang Kai was like a Dragon who shows his tail but never his face. Yang Kai came over whenever he wanted to see Mi Jing Lun, but the reverse essentially never happened. It was as difficult as ascending to the Heavens if Mi Jing Lun wanted to find Yang Kai.

Yang Kai drank another cup of tea and nodded, “Indeed, the Pseudo-Royal Lord I encountered at the Ancestral Land named Di Wu was created in such a manner. Unfortunately for him, he was too careless and was killed by me!”

“Pseudo-Royal Lord?” Mi Jing Lun exclaimed with his eyebrows raised.

“It seems Senior Brother isn’t aware of this point. Although the Black Ink Clan has the ability to forcibly raise an Innate Territory Lord into a Royal Lord, there are clear flaws with the process. Such a created Royal Lord may have the raw power of a Royal Lord, but they are unable to utilise it properly. I clearly felt this when I fought Di Wu; he could only exert about 70% to 80% of what a Royal Lord should be able to do. Thus, I regard them as Pseudo-Royal Lords.”

Mi Jing Lun heaved a sigh of relief and said, “If that’s the case, then there’s no need to be too concerned.”

A Pseudo-Royal Lord who could only exert an average of 75% of his power was not nearly as threatening to Eighth-Order Masters as a true Royal Lord. It might only take a few Eighth-Order Masters in a Battle Formation to resist such an enemy, though killing one was probably impossible.

“But there is another Pseudo-Royal Lord at the No-Return Pass right now.”

Mi Jing Lun’s eyes narrowed and asked, “Who?”

“Senior Brother, do you remember that Innate Territory Lord named Mo Na Ye?”

“Him?” How could Mi Jing Lun not know who Mo Na Ye was? Mo Na Ye was one of the Innate Territory Lords that the Human Race was highly focused on. This guy was far more intelligent and cunning than other Territory Lords. It was definitely not a good development for the Human Race for this Black Ink Clansman to become a Pseudo-Royal Lord.

Mi Jing Lun thought about it momentarily but decided not to dwell on it any further. Now that Mo Na Ye had become a Pseudo-Royal Lord, it was useless to brood over it. If they really encountered him, they could only directly take him on, “Junior Brother, have you found out how the Black Ink Clan creates these Pseudo-Royal Lords?”

Yang Kai shook his head and replied, “Mo Na Ye was already a Pseudo-Royal Lord when I arrived at the No-Return Pass. I tried to probe them about it, and it seemed like the information those Seventh-Order Open Heaven Realm Masters gathered at the No-Return Pass was accurate. Even if the Black Ink Clan has a method to create Pseudo-Royal Lords, they have to pay a huge price. At the very least, they should have to sacrifice a large number of Innate Territory Lords. When Di Wu transformed into a Pseudo-Royal Lord, 13 Innate Territory Lords were sacrificed. In Mo Na Ye’s case, there were at least 12!”

Hearing this, Mi Jing Lun seemed to have suddenly thought of something before snapping his feather fan closed. He gently tapped the fan against his palm and said, “Perhaps… it also involves the sacrifice of a High-Rank Black Ink Nest.”

Yang Kai wondered and asked, “Why do you think so?”

“Perhaps Junior Brother isn’t aware of this. About 400 years ago, some Low-Rank and Mid-Rank Black Ink Nests suddenly withered. When the numbers were tabulated, the Headquarters estimated that a single High-Rank Black Ink Nest had been destroyed somehow. About 100 years ago, a similar situation occurred. Initially, I thought that it was Junior Brother who went on a rampage at the No-Return Pass and destroyed these High-Rank Black Ink Nests, but from your story just now, that seems to not be the case.”

“400 years ago…” After a little calculating, Yang Kai realized that was the time that he had just arrived at the Ancestral Land to cultivate.Thɪs chapter is updated by ɴo(v)elFɪre.ɴet

He also killed Di Wu just over 100 years ago.

For the Black Ink Clan, Black Ink Nests were their foundation, so they would not be given up easily. There could only be one reason for those Low-Rank and Mid-Rank Black Ink Nests to die all of a sudden. The High-Rank Black Ink Nest that produced them was destroyed!

The timing was too coincidental, and the anomaly was equally obvious. The Black Ink Clan was smart enough to hide the truth from him, but there were enough clues for the Human Race to make the necessary deduction.

Yang Kai kept nodding his head.

More than 400 years ago, when the Black Ink Clan knew that he was cultivating in the Ancestral Land, they created Di Wu, a Pseudo-Royal Lord, and ordered him to go to the Ancestral Land to kill him.

Unfortunately, Di Wu ended up losing everything and died in the Ancestral Land. When they realized that Di Wu had died, the Black Ink Clan at the No-Return Pass created Mo Na Ye.

They did it twice, and each time they not only sacrificed more than 10 Territory Lords, they also lost a High-Rank Black Ink Nest in the process.

“It makes sense now,” Mi Jing Lun’s eyes flashed and continued, “The Black Ink Clan does have the means to transform an Innate Territory Lord into a Pseudo-Royal Lord, but it requires the sacrifice of a dozen or so Territory Lords and a High-Rank Black Ink Nest. No wonder the Black Ink Clan has never used this technique before. The cost is indeed very high compared to the benefits.” He looked at Yang Kai and said with a smile, “Looks like that original Royal Lord is willing to pay any price as long as they can kill you.”

Yang Kai said, “Man proposes, the Heavens dispose.”

If he did not have an Army of Small Stone Race with him when he went to the Ancestral Land, there was a good chance that Di Wu would have succeeded.

The good thing was that this matter was considered resolved in his favour. The Black Ink Clan tried to kill Yang Kai, but he managed to overcome that calamity and gained significant compensation for it. All of this was because the two Races still needed to maintain the status quo.