Martial Peak

“Training?”

Many Territory Lords frowned and wondered, [What does that mean?] 

However, some of the Territory Lords fell into contemplation upon hearing these words.

After pondering for a moment, Six Arms said, “You mean…”

Mo Na Ye continued, “Although all of you have always stayed in Profound Nether Territory, I’m sure you’ve heard about the Star Boundary and the World Tree before.”

All of them nodded.

Even though they rarely stepped out of Profound Nether Territory, they had their own ways of gathering information.

The Black Ink Clansmen had been clashing with the Humans for countless years, and many Human Hunters had been corrupted by Black Ink Strength. With the help of these Black Ink Disciples, the Black Ink Clan had gathered quite a lot of useful information.

The Star Boundary and the World Tree were the names that were most frequently mentioned.ʀᴇᴀᴅ ʟᴀᴛᴇsᴛ ᴄʜᴀᴘᴛᴇʀs ᴀᴛ No(ᴠ)ᴇlFire.nᴇt

It was said that the World Tree had a mysterious power that allowed the Star Boundary to produce a lot of Human prodigies, many of whom were able to directly break through to the Sixth or even Seventh-Order Open Heaven Realm.

Mo Na Ye explained, “You may not have any regard for the Sixth-Order and Seventh-Order Humans born in the Star Boundary, but if given a chance, they will grow to be powerful one day. The Sixth-Order Masters have a chance to become Eighth-Order Masters, while the Seventh-Order Masters will eventually become Ninth-Order Masters. By then, even Territory Lords like us won’t be able to underestimate them. However, compared to the Black Ink Clan, it takes a much longer time for Humans to increase their strength, and cultivating in seclusion might not achieve that goal. As such, these so-called prodigies that the Humans pin all their hopes on need a place where they can fight and grow.”

One of the Territory Lords figured out what he was trying to say, “Mo Na Ye, do you mean the Humans have chosen Profound Nether Territory as a training ground?”

Mo Na Ye nodded, “That must be the reason Yang Kai struck a peace deal with us 300 years ago. Those Human prodigies needed a relatively safe place to grow. As such, Yang Kai’s objective was to restrict Territory Lords like us from acting.”

A Territory Lord roared, “The Humans are indeed cunning!”

Mo Na Ye smiled lightly. There was no denying Yang Kai had hidden his real intentions from them; nevertheless, even if he made it clear to the Territory Lords in Profound Nether Territory back then, they wouldn’t have had the courage to refuse him.

That was because the Territory Lords were horrified by Yang Kai’s ruthlessness.

With a relatively safe place to fight and grow, those prodigies, who had not appeared on the battlefield before, streamed into Profound Nether Territory.

Just then, a Territory Lord asked, “Sir Mo Na Ye, do you think we should start a war in Profound Nether Territory, then?”

Mo Na Ye shook his head, “There’s no need for that. While the Humans need to train their soldiers, we should also take this opportunity and do the same. I’m not sure if all of you have noticed or not, but I know Sir Six Arms must have realized. Over the past 300 years, we have had many more clansmen achieve breakthroughs than in the past.”

Six Arms initially didn’t pay attention to such a matter, but upon Mo Na Ye’s reminder, he nodded, “True. Many more Feudal Lords have been born in recent years than in the past.”

Only 300 years had passed, but if they were given more time, the effect would become even more conspicuous.

Mo Na Ye continued with a smile, “Therefore, the Humans are not the only ones who need to train their soldiers, we must do so as well. There is a firm limit to the number of Innate Territory Lords, but there will be many new Eighth-Order and Ninth-Order Humans in the future. If no new Royal Lords rise up in our Black Ink Clan, we won’t be able to deal with those Ninth-Order Humans when the time comes. As such, we can’t break the balance in Profound Nether Territory. Not only must we not make any rash moves, but we also have to take the initiative to protect our agreement with the Humans.”

The Territory Lords nodded as they listened to him. They weren’t fools, it was just that they knew too little about the Humans; therefore, they were unable to make sound judgements in many situations. Mo Na Ye had been collecting information over the years, especially from the Black Ink Disciples, which was why he was more informed than the other Territory Lords.

Six Arms asked, “What do you think Yang Kai’s intention is this time, then?”

Since they were back to the main topic, Mo Na Ye replied with a smile, “Before striking a peace deal with us back then, Yang Kai killed many Territory Lords to intimidate us. What do you think he’s trying to achieve this time, Sir Six Arms?”

This time, Yang Kai suddenly appeared in Twin Poles Territory and slaughtered five Territory Lords while the Humans also eliminated over a million lower Black Ink Clansmen, which was quite similar to how he behaved back then.

Six Arms’ eyes brightened, “He’s trying to turn Twin Poles Territory into a second Profound Nether Territory!”

Mo Na Ye nodded, “Profound Nether Territory is no longer adequate to satisfy the Humans’ need to train their soldiers, and it’s the same for our Black Ink Clan. As more and more Human cultivators have streamed into Profound Nether Territory, this place has become cramped. The Humans probably don’t just want a second Profound Nether Territory, they likely want several of them.”

“I see,” Six Arms guffawed. He was initially in a tight spot as the Territory Lords from the other Great Territories had come together to pressure him, but now it seemed that it wasn’t difficult to deal with this matter. As long as he spread the news, those Territory Lords would stop blaming him for his inaction. Instead, they would be eager to hold peace talks with the Human leaders.

While he was elated, he also saw Mo Na Ye in a different light. Six Arms initially held some grudges against Mo Na Ye while the latter stayed in Profound Nether Territory; after all, it was because Mo Na Ye had sent false information that caused immense losses in Profound Nether Territory back then. Now, it seemed that those losses no longer mattered.

“With Brother Mo Na Ye around, we don’t have to worry about Profound Nether Territory being conquered by the enemy,” Six Arms laughed.

Just then, Mo Na Ye got to his feet and said, “I’ll have to leave this place, Sir Six Arms.”

Six Arms stopped laughing while the other Territory Lords looked at him in shock.

Mo Na Ye went on to say, “Sir Royal Lord has ordered me to head to Twin Poles Territory at once to take charge of that place. Besides that, I’m told that if the Humans want another peace deal, I will have to lead the negotiations from our side.”

Six Arms was startled for a moment, but he soon realised what was going on.

The purple-haired Territory Lord, who was initially in charge of Twin Poles Territory, was killed. As such, that place was basically leaderless now. Although Innate Territory Lords were all-powerful, there had to be a Commander among them. Mo Na Ye was indeed qualified to fill the role.

However, Six Arms felt jealous when he learned about the Royal Lord’s second order, for he wasn’t aware of it at all, and the Royal Lord apparently didn’t have the intention to inform him.

Perhaps there wasn’t a need to inform him since they had already set a precedent in Profound Nether Territory, but it also went to show that the Royal Lord thought highly of Mo Na Ye.

“It’s good that you’re heading to Twin Poles Territory; however, Yang Kai is there at the moment, so you must be careful.” Six Arms pretended to be concerned.

“Every time Yang Kai makes a move, he recuperates for two years. As such, there won’t be any conflicts in Twin Poles Territory for the moment,” Mo Na Ye replied calmly.

Furthermore, he wasn’t going to Twin Poles Territory to fight with the Humans; instead, he was going to strike a peace deal with them.

Just like what he had said to Six Arms, the Humans were not the only ones who needed to train their soldiers, the Black Ink Clan had to do the same. Once a peace deal was reached, no one party would have an advantage over the other.

Nevertheless, the Humans had realised this much earlier on, while the Black Ink Clan were only just understanding this now.

Then, Mo Na Ye left on his own without bringing any Territory Lords or subordinates with him.

In fact, he couldn’t take any Territory Lords with him. Although there had been a peace deal in Profound Nether Territory, both the Eighth-Order Masters and the Territory Lords wouldn’t dare to leave as they pleased. If there was a significant enough imbalance between the numbers of the most powerful Masters on the two sides, the stronger party might seize the chance and wipe the other out.

The moment Mo Na Ye arrived at Twin Poles Territory, he summoned all the Territory Lords to a conference hall and announced that he was going to hold peace talks with the Humans. All of them broke into a commotion, with some of them angered while others felt relieved.

However, when they heard that it was the Royal Lord’s order, they accepted it without any complaints. Many of them were even elated. If there was a peace deal in place, they wouldn’t have to worry about bumping into Yang Kai on the battlefield.

It wasn’t that they were just afraid of death, but also that they wouldn’t dare to disobey the Royal Lord.

Since a consensus had been reached, Mo Na Ye ordered some Feudal Lords to head to the Humans’ camp and convey his intention to hold peace talks. At the same time, he shared the information he had gathered with the other Great Territories.

This resulted in the Great Territories, which were initially filled with intense battles, suddenly falling silent. Although there were still some conflicts, they were minor skirmishes compared to the full-blown war from before.

What was more, the Black Ink Clan were at a distinct advantage in a number of the Great Territories, but even there they decided to take the initiative to retreat.

It was apparent that they were worried about being targeted by Yang Kai and ending up like those in Twin Poles Territory.

The Black Ink Clan decided to keep a low profile for the moment; after all, the reason Yang Kai appeared in Twin Poles Territory was that the situation there was the most severe for the Humans.

Every Great Territory had over 100 Innate Territory Lords assuming command, and Yang Kai could only kill a few of them at any given time; however, no one could guarantee that they wouldn’t be one of those unlucky few.

While Yang Kai was still recuperating, those Territory Lords were already anxiously preparing for the future. Everything would be fine as long as they didn’t push the Humans over the edge and attract the killing star’s attention.

Three years later, in one of the secret rooms in the Humans’ camp, Yang Kai opened his eyes.

This time, it took him longer to recuperate than in the past. Besides the fact that his Soul had been torn apart, he was also left with many physical wounds from his battle with the purple-haired Territory Lord.

At that time, he repeatedly headbutted the Territory Lord and shattered the latter’s head. As a result, many cracks also formed on his own skull.

After the battle, Yang Kai also stopped underestimating the Territory Lords. He came to realise that it wasn’t easy to deal with any of them if they suddenly rose up without fear of death.

He had a right to comment on this topic, for he had defeated many who were much stronger than him in the past. His ferocity and fearlessness played a crucial part in those victories. The Innate Territory Lords, who were struck by the Soul Rending Thorns and subsequently killed due to their own fear, couldn’t represent all of the most powerful Black Ink Clansmen.

Nonetheless, Yang Kai wouldn’t underestimate himself either.

Regardless of how powerful the Territory Lords were, he had killed many of them, which went to show that he was a capable person, and he would kill even more of them in the future.

In any case, he had to settle the issue in Twin Poles Territory first. Then, he would head to the other Great Territories and slaughter the Black Ink Clansmen there until they were thoroughly terrified of him. Only then would he talk to them.

When he left the secret room though, he realised that someone had been waiting for him. The person promptly cupped his fist with a solemn expression and said, “You’ve finally left seclusion, Sir.”

Yang Kai looked up and realised that he knew this person; it was Xiang Shan’s adjutant, Li Xing. Back then in the Great Evolution Army, Xiang Shan was the Army Commander of the Eastern Army while Li Xing handled the miscellaneous affairs and passed on Xiang Shan’s orders.

Yang Kai had come into contact with him on several occasions.

His gaze could not help being drawn to the other man’s right eye as he asked, “What happened?”

Initially, Li Xing was a handsome and dapper man, but he had become more mature after going through the vicissitudes of life. However, his right eye was blind, and there was a hideous scar that ran across his cheek, looking like a centipede crawling on his face.