Martial Peak

A few years ago, Yang Xiao had sent a message to Hua Qing Si and asked her to look out for disciples from the Void Dao Temple who had cultivated the Dao of Space. Although quite a number of disciples had left the Void Dao Temple over the years, there still weren’t a lot of them. As such, there were even fewer people who were skilled in the Dao of Space.

Hua Qing Si had recommended two people so far, but unfortunately, their mastery over the Dao of Space was not up to Yang Xiao’s standards.

Fang Tian Ci, on the other hand, was a suitable candidate.

Nevertheless, it wasn’t like she could force Fang Tian Ci to do anything. She had only given him a suggestion; as for whether he would look for Yang Xiao, that was his decision to make.

“Disciple understands,” Fang Tian Ci nodded.

Then, Hua Qing Si gave him a Universe Chart, “Head to Profound Nether Territory on your own, then. Don’t forget to check in at the Army Headquarters and register your name when you arrive.”

“Yes!” Fang Tian Ci replied and put away the Universe Char before leaping into the air.

He only had to pass through one Great Territory to go from High Heaven Territory to Profound Nether Territory. It was also the Great Territory where the Supreme Headquarters was located, so it was safe. In fact, as long as the 13 Great Territory Battlefields on the frontlines were not broken through, the defence at the back would remain impenetrable.

Fang Tian Ci kept checking the Universe Chart to verify his location while sometimes using Space Principles to hasten his pace.

A month later, he passed through the Great Territory where the Supreme Headquarters was located and arrived at Profound Nether Territory. Then, he intercepted a Squad of people, who seemed like they were heading back from the battlefield to get some rest, and asked them for directions. Following that, he headed straight to the Universe Fragment where the Army Headquarters of Profound Nether Territory was located.

Upon his arrival, he reported his name and background. After his information was registered, he received an Identity Token. The person handling this matter for him was a beautiful woman who was only a Third-Order Master.

Due to her weak cultivation, she could not contribute much in terms of war potential, so she dealt with administrative matters as part of the support staff.

The woman was very patient, and upon learning that it was Fang Tian Ci’s first time in Profound Nether Territory and that he had never fought with the Black Ink Clan before, she explained many things to him, which Fang Tian Ci was grateful for.

Then, Fang Tian Ci asked, “Do you know Yang Xiao?”

The woman’s eyes brightened when she heard that, “Sir Yang Xiao? I know him, of course. Are you looking for him?”

Fang Tian Ci was startled. Hua Qing Si only told him to come to Profound Nether Territory and look for Yang Xiao if he was interested, but she never gave him any details. He initially thought that it would be hard to look for one person on this vast battlefield, but it now seemed that it wasn’t so difficult.

Since a cultivator dealing with administrative tasks in the rear was aware of Yang Xiao’s name, it seemed that he was pretty famous.

However, when Fang Tian Ci realised that the woman was blushing, he knew that Yang Xiao was not just famous for his battle record.

Just as he expected, when the woman realised that he was looking for Yang Xiao, she appeared more enthusiastic, “Why are you looking for Sir Yang Xiao, Senior Brother?”

Fang Tian Ci explained, “I just came from High Heaven Palace where the Head Manager told me to look for him.”

The woman’s eyes became even brighter, “You’re from High Heaven Palace?”Follow current s on No(ᴠ)ᴇlFire.nᴇt

Yang Kai was in charge of Profound Nether Territory on paper, and he was the Palace Master of High Heaven Palace. Many of the cultivators in this place also came from High Heaven Palace. There was no doubt that High Heaven Palace was the most famous Great Force in the entire Profound Nether Territory. Even the Cave Heavens and Paradises were no match for it.

“Do you have a Universe Chart?” The woman asked.

“Yes,” Fang Tian Ci promptly fished out his Universe Chart and passed it to her.

The woman took it and surged her Divine Sense before giving it back to him, “Sir Yang Xiao’s Squad always remains on the frontlines. Recently, they’re supposed to be getting some rest at this forward outpost. If you head over now, you might find them there.”

Fang Tian Ci looked into the Universe Chart and saw a marked location in Profound Nether Territory. “Many thanks,” he nodded gratefully.

Following that, he was ready to leave.

“Wait a moment!” The woman called out to him.

“Is there anything else, Junior Sister?”

The woman bashfully passed him a Space Ring.

Fang Tian Ci was puzzled as to what was going on.

The woman said sheepishly, “Please pass this to Sir Yang Xiao. Since I can’t fight the enemy directly, I’d like to give Sir Yang Xiao some pills that can heal his wounds and restore his energy. Please tell him to stay safe.”

“Alright,” Fang Tian Ci nodded. Although he had never met Yang Xiao before, he thought that the latter must be quite popular among the ladies. That was why this woman only wanted to give some pills to Yang Xiao even though there were so many soldiers at the frontline.

“By the way, my name is Yun Xi!” The woman added.

Fang Tian Ci was torn between tears and laughter, thinking that Yang Xiao might not even know who this woman was if he gave him her name.

Following the directions in the Universe Chart, Fang Tian Ci took a few days to arrive at the forward outpost; however, before he even entered the place, he was stopped. Although he had shown them his Identity Token, he was still asked to enter a Purifying Array.

The soldiers who fought with the enemy were at risk of being corrupted by Black Ink Strength. Once that happened, they would become Black Ink Disciples, who didn’t look different from the normal cultivators.

Because it was impossible to tell a Black Ink Disciple from an ordinary Human just by observing them, a large Purifying Array was arranged at every forward outpost. Its design was based on the interior of a Purifying Black Ink Battleship and it contained a lot of Purifying Light.

Anyone who had been corrupted by Black Ink Strength or had become a Black Ink Disciple would have that Black Ink Strength dispelled by Purifying Light the moment they stepped into this array.

Someone who hadn’t been corrupted by Black Ink Strength wouldn’t lose anything by entering it.

When there was a change of affairs in Profound Nether Territory back then, some Black Ink Disciples tried to sneak into the forward outposts; however, their Black Ink Strength was purified by the Purifying Array, which allowed them to regain their original nature.

Soon, the Black Ink Clan stopped doing such a futile thing. All the same, the Purifying Array remained, for some cultivators might be accidentally corrupted by Black Ink Strength. The array could save their lives.

The moment Fang Tian Ci stepped out of the array, he was amazed by what he saw.

The huge forward outpost was like a prosperous city. The streets were neat and clean, with shops lining them for as far as the eye could see. There was also a massive number of people walking around.

The cultivators who moved around this place were all Open Heaven Realm Masters.

Fang Tian Ci had never seen so many Open Heaven Realm Masters in one place before, and this was just one of the forward outposts operated by the Humans.

It was said that there were a total of 10 similar forward outposts in Profound Nether Territory.

That wasn’t even including the headquarters at the rear.

Nonetheless, it also made Fang Tian Ci realise how formidable the Black Ink Clan must be. So many Open Heaven Realm Masters had gathered in the same Great Territory, yet they were still unable to destroy the Black Ink Clan, which went to show how powerful the enemy was.

The cultivators were mostly in groups of three to five people with some bigger groups reaching a dozen or so. Rarely was anyone on his own like Fang Tian Ci.

While he was looking around, someone came up to him and cupped his fist, “Greetings, Senior Brother.”

Fang Tian Ci looked around, but upon confirming that the other party was speaking to him, he saluted him back with an awkward expression, “What’s the matter, Junior Brother?”

The other party’s aura suggested that he was a Fifth-Order Master. Given the fact that Fang Tian Ci was a Sixth-Order Master, it was only reasonable that he called him Junior Brother. If they were in the same Sect, seniority would be important. If they were not from the same Sect, they would usually address each other according to their cultivation.

“Is it your first time here, Senior Brother? If so, please come with me.” Saying so, the person passionately took his sleeve and tried to drag him away.

Fang Tian Ci found it strange, [Is it so obvious that it’s my first time here?]

Unbeknownst to him, his reaction was indeed conspicuous to the others. Only a cultivator who arrived at this place for the first time would be curious about his surroundings.

Just then, another person leaped forward and intercepted them before politely greeting Fang Tian Ci, “Well met, Senior Brother.”

Then, he looked at the Fifth-Order Master, who was holding Fang Tian Ci’s sleeve, and said, “Brother Zhou, it’s Fei Yun Squad’s turn this time. You’ve crossed the line by snatching him like this!”

Brother Zhou shook his head, “There are only a few people in the Fei Yun Squad. I told you to merge yours with another Squad, but you just wouldn’t listen to me. So what if you manage to persuade him to join your Squad? You won’t keep him for long.”

The cultivator from Fei Yun Squad snapped, “Nonsense! All four of us in the Fei Yun Squad are above the Fifth Order. In fact, Squad Leader Chai is a Sixth-Order Master. All of us are powerful, so how could you compare us to the other Squads?”

“It’s not like our Squad Leader isn’t a Sixth-Order Master. Senior Brother, we have one Sixth-Order Master and two Fifth-Order Masters in the Thousand Mountain Squad. There are six people in total. Given our collective power, we’re even able to deal with a Feudal Lord if we come across one.”

“Don’t listen to his nonsense, Senior Brother. If his Thousand Mountain Squad ran into a Feudal Lord, they’d immediately run away instead of fighting. The Fei Yun Squad is different. We accidentally bumped into a Feudal Lord the other day, and under Squad Leader Chai’s leadership, not only did we manage to withdraw safely, but we also dealt that Feudal Lord a painful blow.”

Fang Tian Ci was perplexed as he listened to these two, but after giving it some thought, he soon realised what was going on.

Apart from the six Great Territories where things remained unchanged, the other Great Territories didn’t have any Eighth-Order Masters and Territory Lords involved directly in the war. As such, both the Humans and the Black Ink Clan had scattered their soldiers around. The Humans relied heavily on Squads as they hunted the Black Ink Clansmen down.

Apparently, when these two people saw that Fang Tian Ci was new to this place, and as such wasn’t part of any Squad, they decided to recruit him into theirs.

Nonetheless, Hua Qing Si had already given him a suggestion regarding this matter. Even if she hadn’t, Fang Tian Ci wasn’t ready to join any Squad in a hurry. At the very least, he had to figure out the current state of affairs in Profound Nether Territory first.

One had to sharpen his tools before starting to work. It was crucial to collect more information first.

Fang Tian Ci raised his hand to stop them from arguing and cupped his fist with a smile, “Many thanks for inviting this Fang to your Squads, but I’m afraid I must decline. Before coming to Profound Nether Territory, Head Manager Hua told me to look for a certain Senior Brother.”

Both of the recruiters instantly fell silent while ‘Brother Zhou’ smiled helplessly, “You already have somewhere to go? In that case, please forgive our rudeness.” Then, he asked curiously, “Who are you looking for, Senior Brother?”

Fang Tian Ci had the intention of asking them about Yang Xiao; after all, they seemed to be stationed at this forward outpost, so they should be familiar with the goings-on in this place. He then told them he was looking for Yang Xiao.

Instantly, they wore respectful looks.

“Are you from High Heaven Palace, Senior Brother?”

“Yes.”

“I see. If you’re looking for Senior Brother Yang, you just have to wait here for a few days. Senior Brother Yang has just taken his Ten Directions Supreme Squad out on a hunt. I suppose it’ll take him some time before he returns.”

“Ten Directions Supreme Squad?” After pondering for a moment, Fang Tian Ci replied with a smile, “That’s an interesting name for Senior Brother Yang’s Squad.”

The two of them exchanged glances and let out a dry laugh. The Squad’s name was more than just being interesting, for its full name was ‘My Adoptive Father in all Ten Directions reigns Supreme, but I am Second to Him’!