Martial Peak
chapter-4965

A guard glanced over from the top of the inner wall, and Yang Kai quickly hid behind the crowd to conceal himself.

This couldn’t be helped. The person he saw was one of the Eighth-Order Open Heaven Realm Division Commanders who arrived at the Conference Hall when Zhong Liang convened all the higher-ups. Although Yang Kai didn’t know his name, if he encountered this Master, he would undoubtedly be identified.

He would never want to be caught sneaking out.

With a solemn expression, the Eighth-Order Division Commander said, “Launch!”

The shield opened at his command, allowing the warship to slowly set sail.

The moment they sailed out of Blue Sky Pass, the atmosphere turned chilly immediately. Yang Kai, who was standing on the deck, peered upward and noticed a massive void. Numerous warships scurried back and forth and occasionally, a profound light erupted from their weapon ports, blasting towards the Black Ink Clan’s Army.

There were Seventh-Order and Eighth-Order Open Heaven Realm Masters, who had profound cultivations out on the battlefield battling against the Black Ink Clan.

Black Ink Clouds of all sizes were dispersed around the battlefield, forming something akin to an ocean of murky darkness. The battlefield was also littered with shattered Spirit Provinces.

The Black Ink Clouds were composed of Black Ink Strength that escaped and condensed after the death of a Black Ink Clansmen. And undoubtedly, the shattered Spirit Provinces were pieces of Small Universes that had been left behind after the death of High-Rank Open Heaven Masters. Some might even be pieces of Small Universes that the High-Rank Masters sacrificed during battle.

Explosions and screams of death rang out as fresh blood dyed the void red and black, and every now and then, powerful life auras would disappear.

This battlefield was where countless Black Ink Clan members and Humans were buried. The number of Masters from both sides who had passed away here throughout the war was unknown.

Yang Kai’s blood steadily boiled as he saw the sight in front of him, and a raging fighting spirit began to rise in his chest. He desperately wanted to rush to the Black Ink Clan Army and fight to the death.

But he was also aware of the limitations of his ability on such battlefields, no matter how powerful he may be. The two Races were at odds with one another, and this war involved countless lives. Even the Eighth-Order Division Commanders would not survive charging into the enemy’s army all alone, not to mention a mere Yang Kai.

Additionally, he had his own purpose this time when he snuck out.

He wanted to advance to the Seventh-Order Open Heaven Realm!

His cultivation had been stagnant at the peak of the Sixth Order for many years now. For the time being, secluded retreat appeared useless. There was now only one option left, and that was to seek an opportunity to break his own shackles during a juncture of life and death.

Yang Kai had long intended to do this, and the ongoing war gave him the ideal opportunity.

He was aware that it was impossible for those overseeing Blue Sky Pass to let him accomplish this, though. No one would be concerned if he was simply a typical Sixth-Order Open Heaven Realm Master. The life or death of an average Sixth-Order Master wasn’t of much concern as there were literally thousands of other Sixth-Order Masters in the Inner Sanctum. Everyone had been in a brutal battle with the Black Ink Clan and only those with enough strength and good fortune survived.

However, the fact was that Yang Kai’s very existence was extremely important to Blue Sky Pass and, by extension, to the whole Human Race. He wasn’t just another Sixth-Order Master.

Yang Kai had brought the Purifying Light with him, and was capable of arranging Universe Arrays.

It was precisely because Zhong Liang realised Yang Kai’s importance, that he had asked Feng Ying to guard him. Feng Ying was also not an ordinary Seventh-Order Master; she was one of the strongest among them.

There was no doubt that it was a waste of talent now that she could only tightly protect Yang Kai, but it was still an important and essential duty.

Zhong Liang even wanted to assign an Eighth-Order Master to protect Yang Kai, but that was impossible, so a Seventh-Order Master was the next best choice and Feng Ying was the best option.

This alone showed how much importance Zhong Liang attached to Yang Kai.

If Yang Kai told him that he wanted to go to the battlefield and look for a chance to break through by risking his life, Zhong Liang would definitely disagree. Not only would he disagree, he would even ask Feng Ying to keep a closer eye on Yang Kai and prevent him from entering the battlefield.

If Yang Kai was killed, the cost to the Human Race would be too high; after all, he was just a Sixth-Order Junior, meaning his strength wasn’t particularly high.

Countless Sixth-Order Masters had died on this battlefield as one tiny mistake could spell death.

Because of this, Yang Kai kept his desire to join the battle a secret from the beginning, and even Feng Ying, who had been with him for six months, failed to notice any such signs.

After waiting for so long, Yang Kai finally found a good opportunity.

If he succeeded, he would become a Seventh-Order Master, if not, he would have to cultivate patiently in the future and simply wait for an opportunity to break through to come.

However, before leaving, Yang Kai still waited until the four Purifying Black Ink Battleships were delivered, so that even if anything went wrong in the battle, the Purifying Black Ink Battleships in Blue Sky Pass side could last for a while, enough to support everyone until the end of the current battle at least.

If he was still in the 3,000 Worlds, Yang Kai might not be this anxious.

But this was the Black Ink Battlefield. The stronger he was, the higher his chances of survival. The Sixth-Order was too weak, while the Seventh-Order Open Heaven Realm was barely enough, so he had to give it a try.

Yang Kai went without leaving even a Space Beacon for himself in order to prevent himself from having an escape route, thus increasing the pressure he felt. He did all this only to improve the chances of him making a life-or-death breakthrough.

The Western Army Right Wing Fourth Division Mountain Battalion was a unit under Zhong Liang’s command. Each Army had a total strength of around 8,000 troops with 15 Divisions in total, each of which had 8 or so Battalions.

The Eastern Army was currently engaged in the fiercest combat, while the Western Army was somewhat better off. The Black Ink Clan Army had attacked frequently in the West, but had been repelled each time. They had left many dead bodies after those battles, but they were evidently unconcerned about them.

Yang Kai, who had spent the two years residing in the Black Ink Clan’s hinterland, knew that the Black Ink Nests served as the Black Ink Clan’s foundation. The Black Ink Clan would continue to exist so long as the Black Ink Nests remained standing. Although the Black Ink Clan’s casualties were not small, they weren’t sufficient to force the enemy to retreat either.

The Western Army’s defence line was constructed in the void, some 10,000 kilometres from Blue Sky Pass. This was where warships laid out a tightly defended barrier that would never be broken through by the Black Ink Clan.

The warship of the Mountain Battalion was only a few thousand kilometres away from its destination and sailed swiftly, so it arrived at the battleground soon after it departed Blue Sky Pass.

The Seventh-Order Master at the prow of the warship should be the Mountain Battalion’s Commander, and with his menacing gaze and deep voice, he ordered, “Everyone, follow me to kill the enemy!”

When that was said, the 100 or so members of Mountain Battalion immediately got busy, each of them performing their own duties.

Yang Kai was suddenly caught off guard and didn’t know what to do.

He was able to board this ship, but he was unaware of Mountain Battalion’s distribution of duties. With no other choice, Yang Kai followed a random pair of people to the deck after realising that everyone else had gone to their respective positions to prepare to repel the enemy.

Suddenly, the two ahead of him turned their heads to look at him, and one of them suddenly said in shock, “Senior Brother Yang, why are you here?”

It wasn’t that no one saw him when he followed everyone on the boat earlier, but rather that those who saw him didn’t seem to pay much attention to him. After all, it wasn’t odd for people to be transferred around when manpower needed to be replenished.

Those who were unfamiliar with Yang Kai automatically viewed him as a newcomer.

Who would have thought that at this moment, he met someone who knew him?

As the words fell, Yang Kai raised his head and became speechless.

The man in front of him looked familiar, and although Yang Kai didn’t know his name, it was certain that he was someone who he had treated before.

Before the advent of the Purifying Black Ink Battleships, there were at least hundreds of people treated by Yang Kai personally. Each of these people was grateful to him and made a point of remembering his face, even if Yang Kai didn’t remember their names.

Yang Kai had been afraid of encountering such a situation, but he also knew that there was no way to avoid it. He had saved so many people after all and being exposed was basically inevitable.

“What happened?” The Battalion Commander turned his head towards them and immediately saw an unfamiliar face. He stared at Yang Kai and frowned vigilantly, “Who are you?”

The person who knew Yang Kai said, “Sir, this is Senior Brother Yang,” while hastily cupping his fist.

The Battalion Commander raised his brow. Despite not having returned to the Inner Sanctum to meet Yang Kai personally, he had lately heard the name a lot and asked in shock, “That Yang Kai?”

The person who replied nodded quickly, “Indeed.”

The Battalion Commander was immediately shocked and asked, “Why are you here?”

If this was the Yang Kai he had heard of, he should be in Inner Sanctum at the moment, so how did he get on his ship? He hadn’t received orders to replace any lost manpower as the Mountain Battalion was currently at full strength.

Furthermore, even if manpower had to be replaced, Yang Kai would never have been deployed to the battlefield. The Battalion Commander understood the significance of Yang Kai when he learned about his extraordinary methods. It only made sense for such a valuable asset to be well-protected. How could Yang Kai be sent to the front lines?

It was no small matter that Yang Kai actually appeared on his ship.

Yang Kai quickly thought of an excuse, cupped his hand, and murmured, “Sir, I was ordered by the Army Commander to perform a secret mission. Travelling with you is mainly to conceal my involvement!”

“A secret mission!” The Battalion Commander frowned, wondering what secret mission actually required this man to visit the battlefield in person. He had also heard that, in order to ensure this man’s safety, Army Commander Zhong had entrusted Feng Ying to remain at his side at all times. However, after screening his surroundings, he could find no sign of Feng Ying.

The Battalion Commander was no fool, so it was obvious to him that there was something wrong with this matter.

However, now that his ship had already arrived on the battlefield, and the front line was in urgent need of support, he couldn’t just turn back because of some small doubt.

Without asking more, the Battalion Commander nodded lightly and said, “If that’s the case, you can do what you need to.”

“Many thanks, Sir.” Yang Kai cupped his fist thanking him, turned his head, and spoke a few words to the two men who had first noticed him.

When the Battalion Commander saw this, he tilted his head slightly and ordered another Seventh-Order Master under his command in a stern voice, “Go back and ask the Army Commander what is happening here.”

He sensed that something was off, and since the issue involved Yang Kai, he had to inform Zhong Liang and ask for instructions. Naturally, he had no reason to believe Yang Kai was acting maliciously as this man would never do something to harm the Human Race after saving so many of them already.

“Yes,” The Seventh-Order Master responded and took out a communication artifact.

Back in the Inner Sanctum, Feng Ying stood up and scowled as she scanned the area around the prototype Purifying Black Ink Battleship.

Yang Kai said that he had made some changes to the Universe Array and needed to run some tests, but even after waiting here for half an hour, he had yet to return.

As a result, she became doubtful and wondered if he had perhaps already returned.