Martial Peak

Chapter 5291, Each Side Retreats

Translator: Silavin & Raikov

Translation Checker: PewPewLazerGun

Editor and Proofreader: Leo of Zion Mountain & Dhael Ligerkeys

After 3 years of silence, chaos suddenly broke out inside of the Black Ink Nest Space with the final blaze of the lives of 2 Eighth-Order Black Ink Disciples as the starting signal.

As their Souls were damaged, the painful wails of 3 injured Territory Lords and Yang Kai’s echoed in unison.

The other 3 uninjured Territory Lords were all on high alert, none of them daring to lower their guards. Who knew if the Human could launch a fourth attack?

They had no idea what that artifact was, but it was something that even the Territory Lords could not defend against, to the point where it could almost be described as a sure hit.

A long time passed before the Territory Lords gradually relaxed, because it seemed like the Human really lacked the strength to attack again. Just from looking at his state, they could tell, for his Soul Avatar seemed to be warping constantly, as if it had sustained great damage. The glow of his Soul Avatar had also dimmed, like it was on the verge of collapsing.

If not for the Soul Warming Lotus’s protection, then such damage would have been enough to extinguish his Soul entirely.

Only then did the 3 Territory Lords dare to check on the injuries of their 3 companions. After a short while, all of them were frowning.

Just like the conditions of the few Territory Lords who were hit in the past, the artifact was able to dig into and shred one’s Soul Avatar. Moreover, it was extremely stubborn and difficult to expel in short order.

Things suddenly became extremely tricky for them.

Hong Di’s face was so dark that the abyss would blush in shame.

6 Territory Lords and 4 Eighth-Order Black Ink Disciples, they had a whole 10 top Masters equivalent to 10 Eighth-Order Human Masters lying in ambush inside the Black Ink Nest Space, but the result? The Seventh-Order Human was able to last until now, leaving them with 3 alive and 3 injured. The 4 Black Ink Disciples had truly perished, without any chance of survival.

Counting the 4 Territory Lords from the previous battles, there were now a total of 11 powerful Masters who had either been killed or seriously injured by this one Seventh-Order Human.

Hong Di could not understand how things had come to this state; however, there was no point in getting entangled with this Human any longer. Even 10 Masters could not kill him, so what could they do now that only 3 Territory Lords remained unharmed?

Were they going to wait until that Human fully recovered and then wiped all of them out?

That would be the epitome of foolishness.

As these thoughts crossed his mind, the thought of withdrawing rose in Hong Di’s heart. Among other things, he had to first get the 3 injured Territory Lords back so they could heal their Souls. Indeed, the dead Black Ink Disciples were a painful loss for the Black Ink Clan, but to lose another 3 Territory Lords would really damage their foundation.

However, the Human seemed to be able to read his mind, and as soon as the thought came to Hong Di, the Human who was wailing incessantly said through clenched teeth, “Want to run? If you dare to open this place, I’ll immediately escape!”

Those words left Hong Di in a horrible mood, not knowing whether to go forward or retreat, there was no need to mention how aggravating that feeling was.

Another Territory Lord howled in anger, “A petty human dares to act so impudently!? You’re just a trivial Seventh-Order brat! It’s pure luck that you’ve lasted this long, how much longer do you think you can last!?”

Yang Kai snickered, “I’m afraid I won’t last for long, but at the very least, I can hold longer than those 3! Why don’t you place your bets!?”

The Territory Lord coldly snorted and said nothing more.

There were only 2 choices for the Territory Lords at this point in the confrontation. First, they could ignore the life or death of their injured companions and continue fighting it out with Yang Kai.

3 years have passed, so even if this Seventh-Order Human’s body could hold out this long, he must be near his limit.

It would be best if his World Energy was depleted before the condition of their 3 peers deteriorated; however, the Territory Lords were concerned that this Seventh-Order Human had some method to replenish his World Force. If that wasn’t the case, it did not make sense for him to be able to last 3 years. If that truly was the case, then wasting any more time with him would be pointless.

The second choice was naturally to open up the Black Ink Nest Space so that both sides could retreat.

However, that would mean that the Black Ink Clan had put in all that effort and capital for nothing, and the 4 Eighth-Order Black Ink Disciples would also have died in vain. How could the Territory Lords bear to accept that?

The 3 uninjured Territory Lords conversed through their Divine Senses for a moment, none of them knowing which choice to make.

Inside of the Soul Warming Lotus, Yang Kai was barely able to maintain a trace of mental clarity.

Using the Soul Rending Thorn thrice in succession was no different than an insane test of his ability to cheat death, but it was a chance that he could not miss as he might never get it again.

Currently, with his Seventh-Order Open Heaven Realm cultivation, it would be amazing enough to be able to escape if he truly faced off against a single Territory Lord. If he wished to injure or even kill such a Master, then favourable conditions and an advantageous position were required, along with a good deal of luck.

However, in this Black Ink Nest Space, the number of Territory Lords and Eighth-Order Black Ink Disciples that he had either cut down or crippled already reached 11.

Of course, that also meant he only had a single Soul Rending Thorn left of his original 12.

This was the best chance he had to reduce the number of Territory Lords without taking too much of a risk. Whether it be for him or the Human Race, this was an extremely rare opportunity.

Thus, Yang Kai was unwilling to leave before finding a way to use his final Soul Rending Thorn.

Otherwise, how could he be in any mood to provoke the Territory Lords? Currently, the best way for him to describe his condition would be a life worse than death. Even the Soul Warming Lotus’ power was barely able to dampen the extreme pain he felt in his Soul.

In spite of his immense suffering, Yang Kai had no choice but to divert some of his attention to the Territory Lords’ movements.

Who knew whether they would open the Black Ink Nest Space or not? If, on the off chance, it did happen and he missed the timing, then he might truly be trapped here forever.

Something else seemed to confuse him, but with his Soul in such turmoil, he didn’t have much energy to be thinking about anything else.

As Yang Kai was in the middle of suffering, the 3 uninjured Territory Lords were also discussing their options.

After only a short debate, the 3 Territory Lords decided to open the Black Ink Nest Space. As things stood, the Human’s physical body showed no signs of withering; otherwise, how could his Soul Avatar have been so full of energy just now?

3 years passed and there were still no obvious changes to his physical body. This Seventh-Order Human must have some special trick that allowed him to maintain the World Force of his Small Universe.

If this went on, once he had a chance to restore himself, the 3 of them would be the unfortunate ones.

Furthermore, the other 3 Territory Lords who were injured could not stay here any longer as this situation was only exacerbating their condition.

Hong Di had an ugly look on his face as he could almost imagine the Royal Lord’s fury when he found out about this debacle.

The withdrawal of his Army from Great Evolution Pass, and his abandonment of his own Black Ink Nest could be said to have been forced, and the Royal Lord was also responsible since it was his order, so the blame could not be put on him.

However, this failure was likely going to affect Hong Di’s position in the Black Ink Clan, but what else could they do now that things had come to this?

Since they finished their discussion, there was no need to delay things.

The Black Ink Nest Space was sealed off by a special technique, and unsealing it was not a difficult task. The Territory Lords just had to use the same technique to open it again.

However, while they were opening the Black Ink Nest Space, the Territory Lords took precautions and opened it for just a brief moment. The 3 uninjured Territory Lords escaped with their injured compatriots at the same time, then they quickly sealed off the Black Ink Nest Space again.

They hoped that the Human would not be able to react in time and then be trapped inside; however, the results were bound to disappoint them. Hong Di had clearly seen the Seventh-Order Human make a quick escape as they were leaving.

The entire Black Ink Nest Space became empty in an instant without any signs of life left behind.

At the universe fragment where the Black Ink Nest was located, Yang Kai woke with a stifled grunt.

Gong Lian, who had been watching over him from the side, came over immediately and helped Yang Kai steady himself while shouting, “Honoured Master, Brother Yang is awake!”

Ou Yang Lie breathed a deep sigh, “Brat, you’re finally back. You really scared me this time.”

Saying so, he stuffed a large handful of Spirit Pills into Yang Kai’s mouth as if they were common candies.

Yang Kai did not even have the energy to thank him and quickly refined and absorbed the pills.

Only after watching his condition stabilize slowly did Ou Yang Lie let out a sigh of relief. He gave his Disciple a look with his eyes, signalling for him to come out of the Black Ink Nest with him.

“What are your orders, Honoured Master?”

Gong Lian asked curiously.

Ou Yang Lie said, “Go back to the Pass and report to the Old Ancestor. Tell her that Yang Kai has made a safe return.”

After receiving the order, Gong Lian left quickly.

As he watched his Disciple’s back, Ou Yang Lie’s tense heart finally relaxed; not because Yang Kai was able to return safely, but because of the Old Ancestor.

Since Yang Kai’s Soul entered the Black Ink Nest Space, he had not returned for 3 years, a fact that could not be hidden from the Old Ancestor.

Everyone knew that something must have happened to Yang Kai in the Black Ink Nest; otherwise, he couldn’t have been trapped inside for so long, but nobody knew what happened exactly.

They could only guess that the Black Ink Clan must have used some sort of trick to seal off the Black Ink Nest Space, preventing Yang Kai from returning.

It was not known how the news had reached the Old Ancestor’s ears, but when it did, she immediately declared she would visit the Royal City to ‘ask’ about the situation.

A panicked Mi Jing Lun hurriedly tried to stop her.

He knew that the Old Ancestor would not just show her aura from afar to taunt the Royal Lord like she had done before. If she really did go there now, then she would definitely attack the Royal City to put pressure on the Black Ink Clan to see if she could help Yang Kai out of his predicament.

Even if she was an Old Ancestor, to attack the Royal City alone still bore serious risk.

How could Mi Jing Lun allow that to happen? He immediately negotiated with the Old Ancestor, and they finally agreed to wait 3 years to see whether or not things would change. If Yang Kai still did not return after 3 years, then the Great Evolution Army would join the Old Ancestor to attack the Royal City!

The reason why they decided on 3 years was because Mi Jing Lun had received news from Ou Yang Lie that it would take around 3 years of time for Yang Kai’s Soul to recover after each attack.

According to Mi Jing Lun’s estimation, the stalemate would definitely break once Yang Kai’s Soul was able to recover.

And now, that did seem to be the case. As soon as the 3-year limit hit, Yang Kai’s Soul returned.

Ou Yang Lie was naturally in a hurry to send Gong Lian to Great Evolution Pass to report the matter. In case the Army really was mobilized and the soldiers followed the Old Ancestor to attack the Royal City, it would be difficult for them to revert that decision.

Sometimes, Ou Yang Lie wanted to cut Mi Jing Lun’s head open to see what was inside. How could he be so far-sighted and always know what others did not?

However, he did not feel discouraged since to him, everyone had their own strengths. At the very least, charging through enemy lines was his strength, something that Mi Jing Lun could not replicate. Moreover… He was manlier than Mi Jing Lun!

News of Yang Kai’s Soul returning quickly reached Great Evolution Pass, and the Old Ancestor, who was ready to mobilize her troops and spur her horse, asserted that she wished to make a trip to the Royal City to visit the Royal Lord and thank him for taking care of her subordinate for the past 3 years.

Mi Jing Lun was unable to stop her this time, nor did he even try to.

Since Yang Kai was fine, then the Old Ancestor would surely act more prudently.