Martial Peak

All Innate Territory Lords were born from the Primordial Heavens Source Grand Restriction and were directly created by Mo. It was also common knowledge that Innate Territory Lords could never advance to become Royal Lords.

Although Yang Kai didn’t know much about the mysteries of the Creation Force, he did know that each Innate Territory Lord was born with more powerful strength than an ordinary Territory Lord. Mo must have used some kind of strange means to stimulate their full potential, completely exhausting it, causing them to be unable to gain more strength afterwards.

No one knew where the news came from, but the Humans believed it. In fact, it had been more than 3,000 years since the battle outside the Primordial Heavens Source Grand Restriction, yet even with so many Innate Territory Lords, there was never any news about one of them becoming a Royal Lord.

But the matter they thought was impossible had happened now.

Yang Kai felt his heart sink. It wouldn’t be too concerning if this was a special case, but if the Black Ink Clan did have some sort of way to make Innate Territory Lords into Royal Lords, the situation between the two Races would change drastically, with the Humans being at a huge disadvantage.

Also, he didn’t believe the Seventh-Order Open Heaven Realm Masters standing in front of him were lying because, as fellow Humans, there was no need to joke about such things.

Just as he was thinking about this matter, the Seventh-Order old man added, “Sir, you don’t have to worry too much about this. According to this old man’s observations, while the Black Ink Clan has a way of making Innate Territory Lords into Royal Lords, it must not be easy to accomplish. There must be a huge price to pay.”

“Why would you say that?” Yang Kai was taken aback.

The old man thought back on his memories before explaining, “About 300 years ago, I recall something strange happening at the No-Return Pass, but we weren’t allowed to roam freely, so I couldn’t go and investigate. Over about a month or so, a large number of Innate Territory Lords entered one specific High-Rank Black Ink Nest, but never came back out. It was like they vanished from existence. Di Wu was the last one to enter that Black Ink Nest. After that, we were ordered to come here together with 20 Territory Lords and arrange the Heaven Sealing Earth Locking Array. However, two years later, Di Wu appeared here as a Royal Lord.”

Although these Seventh-Order Open Heaven Realm Masters didn’t know about the Black Ink Clan’s Source Fusion Technique, there was quite a commotion when the Innate Territory Lords were performing this technique, so they naturally sensed something was happening. However, as Black Ink Disciples, they had no right to pry; otherwise, they would have known a lot more.

When Yang Kai heard what the old man said, he frowned. It seemed like there was a sudden change in the Black Ink Clan that the Humans didn’t know about; or in other words, the Black Ink Clan possessed some kind of technique unknown to the Humans that they had never used before.

In addition, this technique allowed an Innate Territory Lord to become a Royal Lord! That was enough to make alarm bells ring in Yang Kai’s head. There was only Di Wu this time, but if there had been another Royal Lord, Yang Kai might not have been able to win despite all his powerful trump cards.

“How many Innate Territory Lords entered that High-Rank Black Ink Nest back then?” Yang Kai asked.

The old man replied, “At least a dozen.”

Another Seventh-Order Master interrupted them, “If I’m not mistaken, before Di Wu, there should have been 13. If we include Di Wu, it would make 14.”

Frowning, Yang Kai exclaimed, “14!”

Calming down, Yang Kai began thinking about the situation more carefully. After a long time, he spoke up, “If what you said is true, could the Black Ink Clan have some sort of technique that is similar to a sacrificial ceremony, using the High-Rank Black Ink Nest to gather the strength from many Innate Territory Lords to create a Royal Lord?”

Even though Yang Kai’s estimations weren’t entirely correct, he wasn’t far from the truth. Technically speaking, the Source Fusion Technique and sacrificial ceremonies were still different. It was just that the more Innate Territory Lords performing the Source Fusion Technique inside a High-Rank Black Ink Nest, the greater the chances of success.

The Seventh-Order old man nodded, “That is what this old man thinks too.”

Then, Yang Kai suddenly realised something, “No wonder.”

Before, he kept having the feeling that Di Wu’s performance as a Royal Lord was underwhelming. Di Wu clearly had the raw power of a Royal Lord, but he wasn’t able to utilize it smoothly, resulting in him only being able to display about 70% to 80% of his full strength.

In the last moments of the battle, Di Wu even suffered backlash from his own strength, which should have been impossible unless he used some kind of forbidden technique.

Yang Kai originally thought that Di Wu’s condition was because he was a new Royal Lord and wasn’t familiar with controlling his new strength, but what if the truth was like what he had just guessed?

Di Wu didn’t become a Royal Lord through his own cultivation, but through some strange technique.

He had suddenly gained a massive increase in strength, but that strength didn’t belong to him, which was why he had difficulty using it.

If that were true, the situation might not be as bad as Yang Kai feared.

Though it wasn’t clear whether sacrificing 14 Territory Lords to create a Royal Lord like Di Wu was a loss or gain for the Black Ink Clan, it did give hope to the Black Ink Clan in killing him while he was cultivating in the Ancestral Land. That was why the Royal Lord decided to use this hidden technique.

If the Black Ink Clan could kill Yang Kai, that sacrifice would be worth it.

Sending out one Royal Lord, 20 Territory Lords, a few Black Ink Disciples, and a million soldier Black Ink Clan Army clearly showed how determined the Black Ink Clan was, but how could they have expected that Yang Kai alone could force the Black Ink Clan to abandon everything and flee. Also, even the new Royal Lord, Di Wu, had also lost his life in the Divine Spirit Ancestral Land.

The Black Ink Clan had a lot of Innate Territory Lords at the start of the war, but there wouldn’t be many of them left now. Innate Territory Lords were very powerful, and ordinary Eighth-Order Masters couldn’t easily deal with them; therefore, the utility of a dozen or so Innate Territory Lords on the battlefield was definitely higher than one defective Royal Lord.

While thinking so, Yang Kai felt more relieved. Even if the Black Ink Clan used that technique to make another Royal Lord, it wouldn’t affect the overall situation too much.

At the very least, it wouldn’t reach the point of suppressing the Humans.

Then, Yang Kai suddenly thought of something and said, “This matter is quite important, so I need you all to head over to the Supreme Headquarters and provide them with a full report.”

Even though this matter didn’t change the overall situation much, the Humans still had to take precautions. What if a few Royal Lords suddenly appeared on one of the battlefields? If that happened, the Humans would definitely suffer a huge loss; therefore, it was necessary to report this matter to the Supreme Headquarters as soon as possible.

“We would be glad to do so!” The Seventh-Order old man cupped his fist and moved to leave.

“Wait, there’s no hurry to leave.” Yang Kai stopped them, “It’s a long journey there, and there will be dangers along the way. Although the two Races are still abiding by the peace agreement, there’s no telling whether the Black Ink Clan will make a move after this incident. If they do decide to break the treaty, there would be nothing restricting them. I’ll give you all a Small Stone Race Master each so that you can refine them and use them for protection.”

While saying so, he waved his hand and summoned a few Small Stone Race Masters. Since the Great Sun and Moon Marks were inhibiting them, the few Small Stone Race Masters remained docile for the moment.

The Seventh-Order Open Heaven Realm Masters were ecstatic and thanked Yang Kai. Then, they each found one Small Stone Race Master and began taming them. With these Small Stone Race Masters protecting them, they wouldn’t be vulnerable even if they encountered a couple of Territory Lords.

Actually, Yang Kai could personally make the trip to the Supreme Headquarters and bring the Seventh-Order Masters with him, but his injuries hadn’t recovered yet; therefore, he had to treat them immediately. Moreover, he suffered a huge loss after being ambushed by the Black Ink Clan, so how could he be willing to let this matter slide?

Even though the Black Ink Clan suffered a huge loss in the end, that was because Yang Kai had many trump cards. If Yang Kai was unlucky this time, he might already be dead.

Since the Black Ink Clan dared to offend him, they should be ready for his retaliation!

While the Seventh-Order Open Heaven Realm Masters tamed the Small Stone Race Masters, Yang Kai adjusted his breathing and began healing his injuries. After the battle, the Ancestral Land had returned to its former peaceful state.

However, Yang Kai could sense that the heritage accumulated by the Ancestral Land over many millennia was almost depleted because of him.

First, it was because he had been cultivating here for 300 years, constantly absorbing massive amounts of Ancestral Strength, which helped his Dragon Form grow to 99,999 metres long. After that, he engaged in a massive battle with the Black Ink Clan and borrowed strength from the Ancestral Land, further exhausting the Ancestral Strength.

To the Ancestral Land, who resembled a kind and gentle Matriarch, Yang Kai was like a black sheep son who spent almost all her wealth in a short time.

But Yang Kai also knew that this was inevitable because, during that life-or-death situation, the Ancestral Land’s full support allowed him to use the Ancestral Strength as constant protection to block off the bulk of the powerful attacks he faced. Without the protection from the Ancestral Strength, he wouldn’t have been able to withstand such a protracted battle against such powerful enemies.

Fortunately, this situation didn’t greatly affect the Ancestral Land.

The birth of the Ancestral Land was because the Primordial Light had landed here. When that happened, the originally ordinary continent became the source of all Divine Spirits.

Therefore, this land would be forever indestructible.

With enough time, the Ancestral Land could restore its heritage. It might need thousands, tens of thousands, or even millions of years for that to happen, but it would eventually happen.

There would be a time when the Ancestral Land would be restored to its former glory, but all of that hinged on the Human Race defeating the Black Ink Clan.

If the Humans failed, the Ancestral Land would no longer exist.ᴛʜɪs ᴄʜᴀᴘᴛᴇʀ ɪs ᴜᴘᴅᴀᴛᴇ ʙʏ NoᴠᴇFɪre.nᴇt

Two months later, the Seventh-Order Open Heaven Realm Masters finished refining their Small Stone Race companions. Their cultivation was much lower than those of Small Stone Race Masters’, so it took them quite a while to tame them.

However, despite having tamed them, it was difficult for the Seventh-Order Masters to fully control those Small Stone Race Masters and could only order them with basic commands. Once these Small Stone Race Masters moved too far away from them, the Seventh-Order Masters would lose control of them.

They all gathered before Yang Kai, who opened his eyes and retrieved several dozen World Beads.

These World Beads were made by Yang Kai sacrificing small parts of his Small Universe to refine. Although it affected him somewhat, the damage wasn’t too substantial. Moreover, with the World Tree clone assisting him, the damage would gradually be repaired.

After giving those World Beads to the Seventh-Order Masters, he exhorted, “Every bead contains a Sealed World with four 1,000-metre-tall Small Stone Race Masters and 500,000 Small Stone Race Soldiers.”

The Seventh-Order Masters drew in a sharp breath after hearing this.

It didn’t matter if it was one or two beads containing such an Army as they had already witnessed Yang Kai summoning some 300 Small Stone Race Masters earlier while operating the Grand Array, the point was that every bead also included 500,000 Small Stone Race Soldiers!

That number was terrifying because Yang Kai had given them about 50 World Beads.

Wouldn’t that mean there were 25 million Small Stone Race Soldiers?

That was a huge force, and if they introduced all of them to the various Great Territory Battlefields, it could shift the balance between the Humans and Black Ink Clan.