Martial Peak

Chapter 5553: Trapped

While speaking, Old Zhou timidly snuck a glance at Yang Kai, only to discover that Yang Kai was not paying attention to them at all.

What was there to be bothered about? Even a fool could have guessed that there were Black Ink Disciples among the Hunters, but there were no means to confirm the identity of these Black Ink Disciples. Fortunately, nothing could be hidden once the Purifying Light enveloped them.

The Black Ink Disciples could no longer be considered such since they regained their true nature after the Purifying Light dispelled the Black Ink Strength from them. Regardless of what they did in the past, they did not act out of their own will; hence, Yang Kai had no intention to blame them for their actions.

Old Zhou and the others realized this and breathed a sigh of relief.

Among the 1,000 or so Hunters, there were around 60 Black Ink Disciples. That was more than 5% of the population here, which was not a small proportion; however, this ratio was likely an aberration. External factors, including the special arrangements of the Black Ink Clan in Acacia Territory, probably played a role which affected the ratio.

Seeing as the Black Ink Clan wanted to use the Humans trapped in Acacia Territory as bait, it was only natural for them to dispatch more Black Ink Disciples to gather intelligence among the Humans. That was why the ratio of Black Ink Disciples was as high as 5%. In reality, the ratio of Black Ink Disciples existing among the Hunters was nowhere near as high.

Ignoring the matter regarding the Black Ink Disciples, Yang Kai turned to look at Li Zi Yu and asked, “Are you the leader here?”

Li Zi Yu stepped forward and cupped his fist, “Red Sun Army’s Li Zi Yu greets Army Commander Yang!”

Over the past half month, Li Zi Yu learned about Yang Kai’s appointment as the Army Commander of the Profound Nether Army and various other matters about the outside world from the members of Dawn. After hiding in the Universe Cave Heaven for several dozen years, the world outside had changed entirely, causing him to feel slightly depressed. Be that as it may, it was touching to know that the Army Commander of the Profound Nether Army would put himself in danger just to rescue them.

In truth, Li Zi Yu disapproved of this decision by the higher-ups as there were too many things that could have gone and still could go wrong.

It was not a big deal if one or two Eighth-Order Open Heaven Realm Division Commanders were to die in battle; however, the death of an Eighth-Order Open Heaven Realm Army Commander would have a large impact on the entire Army. Even more so when the current Army Commanders held higher statuses than the Army Commanders on the Black Ink Battlefield back then.

Which Army Commander serving on the battlefields spread across the various Great Territories did not have hundreds of thousands, if not millions of soldiers under their command? In contrast, an individual Army only consisted of some 8,000 or so Masters at each Great Pass on the Black Ink Battlefield.

In any case, Li Zi Yu understood the current situation. The news regarding Acacia Territory had spread to the general public. Regardless of how many Humans had been trapped in Acacia Territory, the Supreme Headquarters could not turn a blind eye to the situation. If they ignored these trapped refugees, then the morale among the troops battling on the front lines would drop significantly.

The Black Ink Clan was very cunning indeed. Despite knowing that it was a trap, the Human Race had no choice but to jump right in.

Judging by the current situation, it would seem that the Army Commander of the Profound Nether Army was extremely outstanding. The ability to lead three Squads and slaughter four Innate Territory Lords… That was not something ordinary people could hope to achieve. Unfortunately… it was somewhat embarrassing for him to also be trapped inside this Universe Cave Heaven now.

“Red Sun Army…” Yang Kai seemed slightly stunned, “Do you know Ning Qi Zhi?”

Ning Qi Zhi came from the Red Sun Paradise, so although not all members of the Red Sun Army belonged to Red Sun Paradise, there was still a chance. Yang Kai had experienced various life and death situations with Ning Qi Zhi of Red Sun Paradise, but ultimately the latter died in battle.

Li Zi Yu bowed, “In terms of seniority, he was my Martial Uncle.”

“Red Sun Paradise produces outstanding talents in every generation…” Yang Kai sighed in appreciation.

Li Zi Yu replied, “You’re giving too much credit, Sir.”

Yang Kai waved his hand dismissively, showing no interest in making small talk. Instead, he looked at the 10,000 Human Race Masters here and asked, “These cultivators are not just from Acacia Territory, right?”

“There are also cultivators from a nearby Great Territory. More than 10 years ago, they passed through Acacia Territory during the great evacuation and so we all decided to head towards the designated Great Territory together. Unfortunately, the Black Ink Clan invaded and we had no choice but to hide here until today.”

Yang Kai nodded lightly.

10,000 might seem like a lot, but their strengths varied greatly from individual to individual. There were not many Open Heaven Realm Masters among them, and those that had reached that realm did not have particularly high Orders. In fact, Li Zi Yu and a few of his companions were the only Seventh-Order Open Heaven Realm Masters among them. With such a force, nothing good would come from confronting the Black Ink Clan Army.

Although they hid inside the Universe Cave Heaven out of desperation, they at least managed to protect themselves from danger. It was lucky that there was a Universe Cave Heaven in Acacia Territory that was discovered and managed by Acacia Sect many years ago; otherwise, they would not have had a place to hide in the first place.

Seeming to realise what Yang Kai was thinking, Li Zi Yu quickly offered, “Sir, if you wish to charge out, we are willing to be the vanguard!”

The other Seventh-Order Open Heaven Realm Masters nodded in agreement, looking resolute.

Yang Kai glanced sideways at Li Zi Yu, “The vanguard? Are you planning to rush right to your deaths? Four Territory Lords are waiting outside.”

Forget the Seventh-Order Open Heaven Realm Masters, even for Yang Kai… He would be beaten close to death if he were to charge out recklessly. When he killed the Territory Lords previously, he had the advantage of numerous favourable conditions. The Soul Rending Thorns were extremely potent tools, but could he fight one against four in a direct confrontation? Two would be difficult enough.

“But…” Li Zi Yu wanted to object. [Why are we not charging out? Are we going to just keep hiding here?]

Yang Kai raised a hand to interrupt Li Zi Yu, “Let’s wait for now.”

Li Zi Yu did not know what Yang Kai was waiting for; however, he had no choice but to back down.

Yang Kai glanced at the portal with a frown on his face. Now that he was trapped inside the Universe Cave Heaven, he could not help feeling uncomfortable. Besides, he could not delay for too long if he wanted to break out of this place. The Territory Lords outside might have called for more reinforcements by now. Although he did not know who was acting as the Commander of the Black Ink Clan here, just by looking at how a total of 10 Territory Lords had been guarding Acacia Territory, Yang Kai could tell that this leader was a cautious person.

If his guess was correct, the other party would have requested more reinforcements by now. Once more Territory Lords arrived, their chances of breaking out of this situation would become even slimmer. If he really wanted to leave, then he had to figure out a solution as soon as possible.

Yang Kai considered his options for a moment as he continued treating his wounds; after all, he had yet to heal completely.

After another half month, Su Yan and the others had gradually recovered from their fatigue. They had not been seriously injured before, but the burden of controlling Space Principles and resisting the impact from the outside world was too great. Half a month was enough time for them to recover.

The Sixth-Order Open Heaven Realm Master came to Yang Kai and bowed, “Wan Le Shan greets Dao Lord.” Then, he turned to Miao Fei Ping beside Yang Kai, “Greetings, Senior Brother Miao.”

Yang Kai opened his eyes and stared at the Sixth-Order Open Heaven Realm Master, “Are you from the Void Dao Temple?”

Those who would address him as ‘Dao Lord’ could only be disciples from the Void Dao Temple.

Yang Kai had already guessed as much earlier.

This Sixth-Order Master cultivated the Dao of Space, and although his attainments were not very high, he still had considerable skill. It was highly likely that he came from the Void Dao Temple and inherited some of Yang Kai’s Grand Dao.

Many of those who came from the Void Dao Temple were in similar situations, having varying degrees of accomplishments in the Dao of Space, Dao of Time, and the Spear Dao. However, most had inherited Yang Kai’s Spear Dao because it was much easier to comprehend compared to the Dao of Space and the Dao of Time.

That had always been the case.

However, the disciples from the Void Dao Temple began to flourish even more ever since Yang Kai comprehended the myriad Grand Daos in the Great Sea Celestial Phenomenon. An increasing number of Grand Daos were cultivated by the Void Dao Temple disciples now.

It could be said that the future Grand Daos of the cultivators from the Void Dao Temple were closely related to Yang Kai. Needless to say, not all of them were related to Yang Kai, even though most of them were.

This Sixth-Order Open Heaven Realm Master was quite powerful, and his aptitude was clearly extraordinary.

Seeing as Yang Kai did not recognise him, that could only mean that he came from the last batch of cultivators he released from his Small Universe. It was also the batch that Yang Kai released in Void Land when he returned from the Black Ink Battlefield. There were some 5,000 people in that batch, so it was natural for Yang Kai to not recall all their faces.

Those people had all advanced to the Open Heaven Realm in Void Land at the time, which had shocked Bi Xi, Mo Mei, and all the others. Every one of that batch had advanced to the Sixth or Seventh-Order Open Heaven Realm, making for an extremely spectacular scene.

Some disciples originated from the Dao Temple that Yang Kai released on the Black Ink Battlefield directly, but their numbers were not high each time. Yang Kai might not be able to remember everybody’s names, but they would at least look familiar to him.

If Wan Le Shan had advanced to the Open Heaven Realm in Void Land, then not much time had passed since his break through. In other words, he had advanced directly to the Sixth-Order Open Heaven Realm. Thus, he was expected to reach the Eighth-Order in the future. His aptitude was certainly outstanding.

“Why didn’t you join the Army?” Yang Kai asked.

Wan Le Shan explained respectfully, “We advanced to the Open Heaven Realm in Void Land, then retreated to the Star Boundary with Senior Bi Xi. Most of my Dao Brothers and Sisters joined the various Armies, but some of us followed the Head Manager’s orders and became Hunters. We were tasked with the responsibility of investigating the movements of the Black Ink Clan in the various Great Territories.”

So it was Hua Qing Si’s work!

Yang Kai immediately understood the situation.

Hunters were not just lone wolves who did not fit in with the Army, they were also scouts for the Human Race. Most of the information from the outside was brought back by the Hunters who risked their lives to obtain it. That was necessary; after all, it was impossible to fight the Black Ink Clan on the battlefields across over a dozen Great Territories without knowing anything about what the enemy was up to.

[Hua Qing Si sure is bold.] Talents who advanced directly to the Sixth-Order Open Heaven Realm were candidates with the hope of advancing to the Eighth-Order in the future. [I can’t believe she sent them out just like that. Nobody would be able to rescue them if something happened outside.]

There were probably many others like Wan Le Shan.

He had the feeling that Hua Qing Si was not the only one doing such things though. The Human Race Supreme Headquarters was bound to have similar arrangements. If nothing else, the news about those trapped in Acacia Territory had been provided by the Hunters.

“Many thanks for your hard work,” Yang Kai nodded lightly.

“Dao Lord is the one who gave us a chance to rise in life, it is only right for this Disciple to live up to such high expectations.” Wan Le Shan lowered his head with a respectful expression.

All the disciples from the Dao Temple had an almost fanatical worship of Yang Kai, the Dao Lord of the Void Dao Temple. That was because almost everything they had came from Yang Kai.

Yang Kai had not known about Hua Qing Si’s arrangements, but he had heard from Su Yan and the others about some 200 Open Heaven Realm Masters who were hidden by Hua Qing Si in High Heaven Palace. These 200 were those who had advanced directly to the Seventh-Order Open Heaven Realm back at Void Land!

Hua Qing Si had not allowed these 200 to participate in the war yet. Their task was to cultivate diligently. There was no fear of insufficient resources, the only fear was that they could not comprehend or cultivate well.

Yang Kai understood Hua Qing Si’s intentions. Those who advanced directly to the Seventh Order were candidates with the hope of advancing to the Ninth Order one day. Nobody would willingly send these candidates to the battlefield; after all, it would be a complete waste if they were slain by a Territory Lord.

It was not expected for all 200 of these candidates to advance to the Ninth-Order Open Heaven Realm, but even if only 5% or 10% of them succeeded, that was already equivalent to 10 or 20 Ninth-Order Open Heaven Realm Masters.

Hua Qing Si could not bring herself to place them on the battlefield, and neither could the higher-ups. There were practically no Open Heaven Realm Masters who advanced directly to the Seventh-Order on the battlefields across the various Great Territories now.

Over the years, the Star Boundary had produced numerous talents who advanced directly to the Seventh-Order Open Heaven Realm, but these talents had all been hidden away by the Cave Heavens and Paradises because they were the hope and future of the Human Race.

Every single person harboured selfish desires, and although the Human Race was united in a common cause, Ninth-Order Open Heaven Realm Masters from other Sects would never compare to Ninth-Order Open Heaven Realm Masters from one’s own Sect.

Zhao Ye Bai and the others had advanced directly to the Seventh-Order Open Heaven Realm as well, so according to Hua Qing Si’s plans, they were supposed to remain in the Star Boundary and ignore the fighting outside. It was not too late for them to make a name for themselves when they advanced to the Ninth-Order one day. How could she have known that the little ones would sneak out on their own though?