Martial Peak
chapter-4956

When they returned from the Black Ink Clan’s domain, they had brought back more than 300 people with them. These people were former Black Ink Disciples. Although 300 could not be considered many, these people were enough to form three Battalions based on Blue Sky Pass’ organizational structure. That was not a small number either.

Seeing as 500 people made up a Division, three Battalions’ worth of people could be said to be more than half the forces of a Division. As might be expected, the number of Seventh-Order Open Heaven Realm Masters among the former Black Ink Disciples who were brought back was a bit small and most were only in the Fifth and Sixth-Order.

During their conversation, two more streams of lights sped towards them from a certain direction. Yang Kai looked up and saw faint signs of Black Ink Strength coming from one of them. The other person seemed to be guarding his companion. After having prior experience, how could Yang Kai fail to realise that one of them had been corroded by Black Ink Strength while the other was a companion in charge of providing an escort?

The person who came swept his gaze around from above. Then, he immediately landed in front of Yang Kai and asked anxiously, “Are you Yang Kai?”

Yang Kai nodded. Two coloured lights bloomed from his hands as he walked towards the person who had been corroded by Black Ink Strength, “Leave this to me.”

The person who came glanced at Feng Ying, and Feng Ying nodded lightly in response. Only then did he step away from his companion.

A white light enveloped the other person. Accompanied by a series of sizzling sounds, Black Ink Strength was dispelled and purified from his body. It only took several moments for everything to be dealt with. Those two carefully checked the situation inside the Small Universe and were filled with a mixture of surprise and delight. Just like the first batch of people who came here, they returned to the battlefield quickly after fervently expressing their gratitude.

Afterwards, an intermittent flow of Open Heaven Realm Masters corroded by Black Ink Strength came to the Central Square with the support of their companions.

Yang Kai had been assigned to this area to help dispel Black Ink Strength in the first place, so it was only natural that he did not refuse anybody who came to him. Besides, Purifying Light was neither complicated to activate nor consumed large amounts of his own strength. He could basically help the people who came here restore order to chaos and recover their true nature in just a few breaths.

Not many people came at first, but those who did were filled with anxiety, anticipation, and uncertainty. Nobody had ever experienced such a situation before after all. The Eighth-Order Division Commanders had explained the situation, so it was unlikely for anything to go wrong; nevertheless, nobody could feel at ease without witnessing it for themselves. It was not until they saw the miracle with their own eyes that they finally felt completely relieved.

As time passed, the number of people who came to seek treatment from Yang Kai increased sharply for some reason. Most of them no longer seemed as worried as the others from before, and even the people who escorted their companions here simply observed Yang Kai with curiosity.

Yang Kai became extremely busy as a result. He generally rescued a dozen people a day, but there were also days when he had to rescue as many as 100. About half a month passed in this manner before he finally had time to rest. Yang Kai looked at Feng Ying in confusion and asked, “Is the situation where people are corrupted by Black Ink Strength usually so severe? Didn’t you say that they have the protection of their warships?”

If this was the case, then prior to his arrival, the casualties among the Humans after each war would be far too great. A rough estimate indicated that he had saved several hundred people in just this half month alone. This number only included those who were corroded by Black Ink Strength and not those who had perished on the battlefield.

Even Feng Ying had noticed that something was wrong. Fortunately, she had kept in contact with the outside world and understood the reason for all this. With a shake of her head, she answered his question, “It was not like this in the past. Although there had always been people who were corroded by Black Ink Strength on the battlefield, such incidences did not occur so often. It’s only like this now because of you.”

“Because of me?” Yang Kai seemed taken aback by her words. [What does this have to do with me?]

All of a sudden, he seemed to realise something and his face cramped, “Don’t tell me…”

She nodded, “Information about you has spread on the battlefield. Everybody knows that there is somebody like you in the Inner Sanctum, who can use mysterious means to dispel and purify Black Ink Strength. That is why they have stopped being so reserved when fighting against the Black Ink Clan.”

In the past, becoming corroded by Black Ink Strength was an issue that could not be resolved; therefore, everybody acted cautiously to prevent themselves from coming into contact with the Black Ink Strength as much as possible. However, Yang Kai’s appearance had brought some changes to the situation on the battlefield.

Although the Division Commanders had explained Yang Kai’s existence and Purifying Light to the public from the very beginning, nobody had witnessed or personally verified the situation before. Who could be certain that this information was true? It was not that they did not believe in the Eighth-Order Masters, but that the situation was simply too bizarre to believe so haphazardly.

When those who were initially rescued returned to the battlefield though, the news began to spread rapidly. The increasing number of people whom Yang Kai rescued only caused the news to spread even faster.

These people came from all Armies and Divisions in Blue Sky Pass. Their companions had witnessed them becoming corroded by Black Ink Strength, returning to the Inner Sanctum, and reappearing on the battlefield in perfect condition after a short while. A quick inquiry was enough for them to learn about the treatment that could be found in the Inner Sanctum.

It was true that there was somebody in the Inner Sanctum who could dispel Black Ink Strength that had seeped into their Small Universes through some mysterious means. The Division Commanders had spoken the truth! Hence, morale instantly soared. The people in the Eastern, Western, Southern, and Northern Armies no longer had any scruples and went all out in their battles against the Black Ink Clan. It was only natural for the number of people who became corrupted by Black Ink Strength to increase as a result.

When the Human Race fought the Black Ink Clan in the past, they would still feel shackled despite having warships as support. Now that they no longer had any scruples, not only was their morale boosted significantly, but their ferocity also increased considerably.

Upon learning the truth, Yang Kai did not know whether to laugh or cry. What could he say? He could only remain in his post with peace of mind and help to dispel Black Ink Strength from the bodies of those who were sent here so that they could return to the battlefield.

The changes in the Humans were deeply felt by the Black Ink Clan. The reason behind the changes was unknown, but the Humans suddenly seemed extremely enthusiastic and full of fighting spirit. Due to the deaths of the Black Ink Clansmen, countless Black Ink Clouds of varying sizes would form all over the battlefield every time a war was fought. These Black Ink Clouds often became supplementary tools for the Black Ink Clan because the Humans generally stayed far away from them.

But now, things were different. The Black Ink Clouds could no longer act as deterrents against the Humans. In the past, by seeking refuge inside the Black Ink Clouds when injured, the Black Ink Clan could generally throw off their pursuers and preserve their lives. However, the Humans seemed to have gone mad now. Even if a Black Ink Clansman hid inside the Black Ink Clouds, the Humans would boldly rush in to attack them, as though they would never give up unless their opponent was dead.

The Black Ink Clan was stunned. The combat experience and doctrine they had built up over millennia suddenly became useless in the face of these changes. In their panicked and unprepared state, they suffered massive losses.

What particularly puzzled the Black Ink Clan was the Humans’ attitude towards the Black Ink Disciples. In the past, the Humans would put forth their best efforts to ruthlessly slaughter all of the Black Ink Disciples they encountered. Now though, they had begun to capture these Black Ink Disciples whenever possible! As a result, many of the Black Ink Clansmen lost their subordinates without realising and could only watch in anguish as their servants were taken away.

The situation of the Humans improved significantly on the battlefield. Feng Ying had always remained in contact with the front lines, so she was not surprised to receive this information.

“If this trend continues, it won’t take more than a few years to repel the Black Ink Clan!” She looked excited.

“A few years…” Yang Kai was stunned speechless. [How could a single battle last several years? Isn’t that too long?]

“A few years is considered a short time. Whenever the Black Ink Clan army besieges a great pass, the war tends to last several years. It might even take up to several decades or even 100 years to resolve.” She sighed slightly, “There is no way for us to get rid of the Black Ink Clan once and for all. Every time the Black Ink Clan army is defeated, they will retreat to their territory to recuperate and come back again after they have accumulated enough strength. This situation has repeated itself over and over again at every great pass on the Black Ink Battlefield for hundreds of thousands of years.”

Yang Kai was stunned by those words. [If this war lasts for several years, then won’t I have to remain in the Central Square for several years? This is a little different from what I imagined…]

He had initially assumed that he would follow the Human Race Army onto the battlefield to destroy the enemy after he came here. Contrary to his expectations, he had been assigned to treat his allies in the rear because of his ability to cast Purifying Light.

It was not to say that this was an unimportant matter and Yang Kai was well aware of the importance of his assignment. The stability of the rear would largely determine the outcome of the war after all. Not to mention, his actions had greatly increased the morale of the Human Race Army and affected the overall trend on the battlefield. But, if he had to stay here all the time… That would be too dull. He would prefer to kill the Black Ink Clan on the battlefield and contribute to the Human Race.

Seemingly seeing through his thoughts, Feng Ying smiled and said, “Be patient. Since your ability cannot be taught to others, Martial Uncle Zhong and the others will not let you go anywhere else.”

Those words troubled Yang Kai so much that he felt as though his teeth ached, his stomach ached, and his whole body ached.

Martial Uncle Zhong immediately arrived at the mention of his name, carrying an individual with a ferocious expression and eyes filled with pitch-black darkness in each hand. He appeared next to the two of them and tossed both people in his grasp in front of Yang Kai and smiled brilliantly, “Yang Boy, did you run into any trouble?”

[What trouble could I possibly face?]

At first, the people who came to Yang Kai for treatment had harboured some doubts about his ability; however, once the news spread, those who later came to ask for help only had big smiles on their faces. Every one of them had been very friendly. Some even tried to build a connection with him and tried to become Sworn Brothers on the spot.

Furthermore, all of them had promised to treat him to a drink if they survived the battle before departing again. If these people were to keep their promises, then he would need to spend a whole year just to attend all those banquets.

Yang Kai shook his head. Looking at the two men who had been tossed to the ground in front of him, he raised his brow inquiringly, “Black Ink Disciples?”

Black Ink Disciples had lost their true nature. They were different from the Human Masters who still retained some of their reasoning after being invaded by Black Ink Strength. During this period, Yang Kai had also rescued many Black Ink Disciples brought back from the battlefield.

Zhong Liang nodded, “I caught them on the battlefield and brought them back. Will it be a problem?”

Yang Kai replied, “Not at all.”

Taking a step forward, he used Purifying Light on the two Black Ink Disciples.

Meanwhile, Feng Ying stepped forward and whispered something to Zhong Liang. Zhong Liang nodded to indicate that he understood.

A short while later, the Black Ink Strength was fully dispelled. The two Black Ink Disciples who recovered their true natures had confused and ashamed expressions on their faces.

Every Black Ink Disciple clearly recalled all the actions they took in the past. It was precisely because they retained those memories that they felt ashamed; after all, some of them might even have killed their own clansmen on the battlefield.

Zhong Liang waved at them and motioned for them to step aside. Although those two had many questions, the Eighth-Order Ancestor had spoken, so they could only step back obediently.

Zhong Liang walked up to Yang Kai, patted him on the shoulder, and said earnestly, “Brat, what you are doing is very important to Blue Sky Pass. It may be boring, but please bear with it. Once the war ends, I assure you your contributions will be fully accounted for.”