Martial Peak
chapter-5042

The problem with giving up a part of one’s Small Universe wasn’t just about incompleteness, but also about a drop in strength.

If Yang Kai had done such a thing not long after he ascended to the Seventh-Order Open Heaven Realm, his cultivation would have regressed to the Sixth-Order.

However, he had previously consumed a High-Rank World Fruit and refined several sets of Seventh-Order materials over the past two years. He had accumulated quite a bit of heritage in the Seventh-Order Open Heaven Realm, so there was no risk of him falling to the Sixth-Order.

It was apparent to him now that there were two reasons those from Blue Sky Pass rewarded him with a High-Rank World Fruit. First of all, he had indeed made many contributions, but secondly, they had to get him prepared for this moment.

They had surely taken this exact situation into consideration, which was why it wasn’t until two years later that they asked him to give up the World Spring.

What caught Yang Kai’s attention wasn’t the damage to his Small Universe though, but the anomaly happening around the World Tree’s clone.

At this moment, a humming sound was heard coming from the World Tree’s clone as a faintly discernible power exuded from it and streamed towards the damaged part of his Small Universe.

Yang Kai wasn’t in control of this process and he had no idea what was going on, but the instant the abstruse power exuded from the clone, his pain was significantly soothed, as though he had just come across a spring amidst the summer heat.

Besides that, he had a feeling that the anomaly happening to the clone would be beneficial to him.

With that said, it was just a feeling, so he couldn’t make a judgement yet. He didn’t immediately consume the Profound Yin Spirit Fruit, but to make sure that Zhong Liang wouldn’t be worried, he said, “Please rest assured, Sir. I’m fine.”

As he spoke, he got to his feet, “I’ll take my leave now. It may take some time for my Small Universe to heal.”

Certainly, Zhong Liang wouldn’t stop him, so he nodded and replied, “Good. You have to promptly consume that Profound Yin Spirit Fruit after you go back.”

“Yes,” Yang Kai nodded with a solemn expression. After saluting him, he returned to the Inner Sanctum and headed to his place.

Hovering in the void, Zhong Liang watched Yang Kai leave, then turned to look at Ding Yao.

Presently, the World Force around Ding Yao undulated and gusted out from his body, assimilating into the void from time to time.

Just like Yang Kai had to refine the World Tree’s clone, he currently had to refine the World Spring as well. In order to do that, he had to get rid of the impurities that belonged to Yang Kai. After all, he had swallowed a part of the younger man’s Small Universe.

This territory contained a part of Yang Kai’s heritage, but instead of being beneficial to Ding Yao, it was harmful to him.

However, he was much stronger than Yang Kai, and the territory that had been cut off wasn’t big, so there weren’t a lot of impurities to begin with.

After just a few days, Ding Yao was done with refining the World Spring. When he opened his eyes, it was apparent that his aura had become more robust.

Upon seeing that, Zhong Liang said, “Congratulations, Brother Ding. Since you have the World Spring now, you’ll stand a chance to reach even greater heights.”

To Eighth-Order Open Heaven Realm Masters like them, the highest Order was undoubtedly the Ninth-Order.

There were dozens of Eighth-Order Open Heaven Realm Masters in Blue Sky Pass, but the reason they decided to let Ding Yao take over the World Spring wasn’t solely because he was the strongest amongst them. The main reason was that in the past he directly ascended to the Seventh Order, so the Eighth Order wasn’t his limit. In his lifetime, he could aim to become a Ninth-Order Old Ancestor.

In comparison, even though Zhong Liang and the others were strong as well, they had exhausted their potential. The Eighth Order was the best they could achieve in their lifetimes.

It had been thousands of years since Ding Yao ascended to the Eighth Order, but even though he had accumulated a lot of heritage in his current Order, he was still pretty far from the Ninth Order.

Since he had a World Spring now though, there was no doubt that it would take him a shorter time to make it to the Ninth Order.

Ding Yao said, “We all know that it will still take me quite some time to reach the highest Order. On the other hand, since I’ve taken over the World Spring now, I’d better give something back to that brat.”

In an instant, Zhong Liang had a bad premonition, “What are you going to do?”

Ding Yao grinned, “Since he has given me the World Spring, I’ll get him a gift.”

Then, he turned into a ray of golden light and disappeared into the distance.

A myriad of expressions came over Zhong Liang as he stayed rooted to the spot. Soon though, he couldn’t help but stomp his foot and snarl, “That reckless fool!”

Despite that, he didn’t intend to chase after him for he knew it was pointless to do so. Since Ding Yao had made a decision, he wouldn’t change his mind. Furthermore, given his strength, he most likely wouldn’t fall into any danger.

In his room, Yang Kai was seated with his legs crossed. As he refined Seventh-Order materials to cultivate, he examined the transformation going on in his Small Universe.

He didn’t consume the Profound Yin Spirit Fruit because he wanted to find out how the clone’s anomaly would influence him.

If he consumed the Profound Yin Spirit Fruit to repair his Small Universe, the clone’s anomaly would probably disappear.

As time passed, the changes in his Small Universe became increasingly conspicuous. The originally damaged part of his Small Universe started repairing itself.

This revelation astounded Yang Kai.

It wasn’t until this moment that he realised the outcome that the clone’s anomaly had produced.

This clone was able to repair damage to his Small Universe! In other words, even though he never consumed the Profound Yin Spirit Fruit, there still wouldn’t be any problems.

He couldn’t believe that the World Tree clone was able to do even that.

Including the fact that the clone was able to help increase his cultivation speed, he had discovered 5 benefits that the tree had given him.

After giving it a thought, he realised that the tree wasn’t named the World Tree for no reason. Even though he had only refined a clone, it was still a World Tree. A Small Universe was also a Universe World, and with the clone’s presence, it was expected that any non-fatal damage would eventually heal itself. Back then, after he planted a World Tree clone in the Star Boundary, the tree was even able to stabilise the collapsing Universe World.

Furthermore, the speed of self-repair was just as good as what consuming a Profound Yin Spirit Fruit would achieve.

However, this benefit wasn’t really useful to Yang Kai; after all, he wouldn’t be corrupted by Black Ink Strength, so he wouldn’t have to give up parts of his Small Universe to save himself. In any case, it was wonderful that he didn’t have to consume the Profound Yin Spirit Fruit as this thing had always been in demand in the Inner Sanctum.

He could return the fruit to Zhong Liang at a later time so that it could be placed in the War Materials Hall for someone else to use.

A few months later, a ray of light descended from the sky and landed in the courtyard.

Upon detecting the movement, Feng Ying hurriedly came over. The instant she saw the person, she saluted him, “Greetings, Sir.”

The person was none other than Ding Yao. It wasn’t certain what he had done recently, but he was now engulfed in murderous intent. Feng Ying could also see that he was injured.

With his hands behind his back, Ding Yao nodded and looked around, “Where’s Yang Boy?”

Feng Ying hurriedly replied, “He’s still cultivating in seclusion now. Please give me a moment, Sir. I’ll tell him to come out now.”

Ding Yao waved his hand, “Since he’s cultivating in seclusion, there’s no need to disturb him. I’ll wait for him to come out.”

Upon hearing that, Feng Ying said, “Junior Brother Yang will stop cultivating in seclusion every half a year. I suppose he’ll come out of his room in a few days. I’ll tell him to see you when he emerges.”

However, Ding Yao just adjusted his clothes and took a seat in the corridor, “There’s no rush. This King will wait for him here.”

Feng Ying was astounded as she wondered why Ding Yao insisted on waiting for Yang Kai here. She didn’t think Yang Kai had made any mistakes recently, so why did the Eastern Army Commander come all the way here?

While she was lost in her thoughts, she saw another person descending from the sky. It was none other than Zhong Liang.

She quickly saluted him and shot him an inquisitive look.

Zhong Liang waved his hand as he walked up to Ding Yao and sized him up. He tutted and asked, “What’s the point of doing this? Doesn’t it hurt?”

Ding Yao replied impassively, “Injuries are inevitable, but it was worth it. I had to let those guys know the consequences of invading Blue Sky Pass. Regardless of whether I’m in a good or bad mood, I can just go over and make a fuss so that they’ll have a taste of getting their home invaded.” He grinned.

The corners of Zhong Liang’s mouth twitched. He had already expected that Ding Yao would become more active after taking over the World Spring, and his speculation was right.

To the side, Feng Ying appeared puzzled as she had no idea what these Army Commanders were talking about. Nevertheless, judging from Ding Yao’s words, she reckoned that he had fought against the Black Ink Clan somewhere.

Now, the Black Ink Clan were hiding deep in their own territory. In other words, Ding Yao had launched an attack on the Black Ink Clan’s base. This notion shocked her. With that said, the Humans had invaded the Black Ink Clan’s territory before. With the Old Ancestor leading the way, those from Blue Sky Pass had previously done such a thing more than once. This always resulted in the Black Ink Clan’s Armies counterattacking resulting in a full-scale war.

However, every time they invaded the Black Ink Clan’s base, the Old Ancestor would take the lead to ensure the safety of most people. Even though Ding Yao was an Eighth-Order Master, it was risky for him to barge into the Black Ink Clan’s hinterland without anyone else supporting him.

Even though Feng Ying had no idea why Ding Yao had done such a thing, she wasn’t in any position to ask about it.

Zhong Liang turned to look at her, “Why are you just standing there? Don’t you see that your Martial Uncle Ding sitting here? Get him some tea.”

Feng Ying quickly responded and fished out a tea set. Considering the fact that Ding Yao was injured, she even took out her treasured Spirit Tea to help him recuperate.

After drinking the tea, Ding Yao couldn’t stop praising her.

When Yang Kai left his room a few days later, he instantly saw this awkward sight.

In the corridor of the courtyard, Ding Yao and Zhong Liang were seated across from each other with a table in the middle of them, sipping tea that Feng Ying was quietly preparing for them.

Yang Kai was dumbfounded as he thought that he was seeing things.

Zhong Liang beckoned to him, “Come here and have some tea. You’re in luck because your Senior Sister Feng has fished out some of the Peak-Rank spirit tea that she has always treasured.”

The atmosphere was somewhat awkward. After he was seated, Feng Ying poured him a cup of tea. While sipping the tea, he signalled at Feng Ying with his eyes to ask her what was going on.

Upon seeing that Feng Ying ignored him, leaving him flustered.

He couldn’t really tell what the spirit tea tasted like, but it was indeed beneficial to cultivators. He felt refreshed after drinking a few cups of it.

Ding Yao finally put down the tea cup and struck his own chest. The next instant, he turned his head and spat out a mouthful of clotted blood. Like a blood arrow, the clotted blood formed a hole in the ground.

After that, Ding Yao became evidently energised and he nodded at Feng Ying, “Many thanks, Martial Niece.”

Feng Ying saluted him, “Don’t mention it, Martial Uncle.”

Ding Yao then turned to Yang Kai and tossed a Space Ring at him, “For you.”

A doubtful Yang Kai took it and infused his Divine Sense into it. The next moment, his expression changed drastically as he muttered, “Why are there so many…”