Martial Peak
chapter-5086

Certainly, it would cause a commotion if Yang Kai really did so. He just regretted that he hadn’t brought a few million Black Ink Coins with him; otherwise, he could’ve purchased a fair amount of resources without being noticed.

More than 10 sets of Seventh-Order material were nothing compared to his total wealth, but he could refine them without worrying about getting caught.

This was the reason he left the castle to purchase resources; otherwise, he wouldn’t be able to explain himself when Hei Yuan saw him refining resources.

Without staying for a long time, he used up his Black Ink Coins and returned to the castle to start cultivating.

A few days later, Hei Yuan finally summoned him.

Above an empty square in the middle of the castle, a large ship was hovering in mid-air. More than 100 Black Ink Clansmen were ready to board the ship with Hei Yuan, including Yang Kai.

This large ship wasn’t a Warship; it was just a flight-type artifact. Given Yang Kai’s mastery of Artifact Refining, it would only take him some time to craft a similar ship; however, it would take him a longer time and more energy to build one than make an ordinary artifact.

Over the years, none of the Feudal Lords that were his customers had asked him to make a flight-type artifact. To the Feudal Lords, artifacts that could save their lives or kill the enemies were far more important than flight-type artifacts. Furthermore, the materials used to build a flight-type artifact were more expensive than the ones used for making an ordinary artifact.

“I will return from the Royal City soon. After I’m gone, you will manage the affairs in the territory,” Hei Yuan said to Gui Liao.

“Don’t worry, Sir. I’ll handle everything well,” Gui Liao replied respectfully.

Hei Yuan went on to say, “When I come back, I’ll let you enter the Black Ink Nest so that you can become a Territory Lord. You’ve accumulated enough over the years to do so.”

In an instant, Gui Liao became agitated, “Many thanks, Sir Territory Lord! I’ll not disappoint you!”

Hei Yuan nodded lightly, then said to the Black Ink Clansman who was responsible for controlling the large ship, “Let’s go.”

Following his order, the ship hummed and rose into the sky. After turning in a different direction, it transformed into a ray of light and left the place at the speed of lightning.

On the deck, Hei Yuan stared out at the void and fell into his thoughts.

Yang Kai just stood silently behind him in a subservient manner.

“I rarely turn Humans. The last time I did so was 2,000 years ago. The Black Ink Disciple I corrupted at that time was just like you. He was strong,” Hei Yuan suddenly said.

Yang Kai had no idea what the other man was trying to say. Although it seemed like a small talk, he didn’t think a Territory Lord would waste his time in such a way. Hence, he decided to remain silent so that he wouldn’t say anything wrong.

“He had followed me for 1,000 years and made a lot of contributions. Unfortunately… he was killed on the battlefield in the end.” Hei Yuan sighed, “Theoretically, a Seventh-Order Open Heaven Realm Master is equivalent to a Feudal Lord; however, a Seventh-Order Human will always be stronger than ordinary Feudal Lords. The strongest ones are even able to wound newly promoted Territory Lords.”

Yang Kai explained, “The cultivation of Humans is all about accumulation. Even if two people are both in the Seventh-Order Open Heaven Realm, there might be a difference of several thousand years of cultivation between them; hence, there is a huge gap in power between them.”

Hei Yuan nodded, “It’s all about accumulation for the Humans, and it’s the same case for the Black Ink Clan; however, in general, it takes a shorter time for the Black Ink Clan to mature than the Humans. Moreover, all our ascensions rely on the Black Ink Nests. Perhaps that is the reason the individual power of the Black Ink Clan is weaker than that of the Humans.”

Upon hearing that, Yang Kai was startled, “I’ve never thought about it before.”

Without turning his head, Hei Yuan said with a smile, “The Humans rely on themselves to break through while the Black Ink Clan have to make use of external aids to do so. That’s the difference between us. However, Humans are not comparable to us when it comes to population. We have an infinite supply of soldiers while there’s only a limited number of Human cultivators in each Great Pass. Despite that, rarely has any Great Pass been conquered over the years. Sometimes, I can’t help but admire the Humans’ determination and perseverance.”

Yang Kai sensitively caught a piece of important information in Hei Yuan’s words, “Sir, you said rarely any Great Pass has been conquered before. Does that mean it has happened before?”

Hei Yuan turned to look at him and asked curiously, “Don’t you know about it?”

[It really happened before?] Yang Kai felt his heart sinking. While remaining calm, he shook his head, “I’ve never heard about it. In fact, it’s only been a short time since I arrived at this battlefield.”

Hei Yuan nodded gently, “It indeed happened a long time ago. The Humans must be ashamed of this incident, so they naturally wouldn’t spread it. Perhaps they’ve erased all records of it.”

“Which of the Great Passes had been conquered before?” Yang Kai knew that as a Black Ink Disciple, he shouldn’t have asked so many questions. Nevertheless, he couldn’t suppress his curiosity.

“It happened so long ago that I can no longer remember it. Let me think… I believe it was called the Great Evolution Pass. Yes, it was the Great Evolution Pass.”

[Great Evolution Pass… Great Evolution Paradise!]

Yang Kai was shaken to the core.

The Great Passes were basically named after the Cave Heavens and Paradises. At the mention of the Great Evolution Pass, Yang Kai could only think of Great Evolution Paradise.

That was the Paradise where Grandmaster Ma Fan came from. The Good Fortune Divine Furnace that could be used to derive higher-order materials from lower-order ones was one of Great Evolution Paradise’s core inheritances.

Back then, in order to fight for the right to use the Good Fortune Divine Furnace, the Cave Heavens and Paradises haggled with Yang Kai for quite some time.

Great Evolution Paradise was removed from the 72 Paradises, and Grandmaster Ma Fan was just a remnant of Great Evolution Paradise.

Yang Kai had always been curious about what kind of crisis such a Paradise faced to cause its downfall.

Now, it seemed that it had something to do with the fact that the Great Evolution Pass was conquered on the Black Ink Battlefield. However, other than the Old Ancestors, no one else seemed aware of what had happened in the past. Even Grandmaster Ma Fan himself seemed unaware of the details. After all, he had never come to the Black Ink Battlefield as he had always been living in the 3,000 Worlds.

“That is the only Great Pass we managed to conquer.” There was a hint of displeasure in Hei Yuan’s tone, “Although we had many chances of conquering other Great Passes in the past, we’d always fail in our attempts in the end. The resilience and persistence of the Humans is inconceivable. You are a Human as well as a Black Ink Disciple, so you surely understand Humans and the Black Ink Clan better than most. Do you know the strengths and weaknesses of the two Races?”

Yang Kai was caught off guard as he was suddenly asked such a question, but after giving it a thought, he replied, “Just like what Master has said, the Black Ink Clan have an unlimited supply of soldiers while there is a limited number of Human cultivators. That’s the advantage of the Black Ink Clan. Also, Black Ink Strength is a tricky problem for the Humans. In the past, once they were invaded by Black Ink Strength, they either had to sacrifice a part of their Small Universes or kill themselves on the spot; otherwise, they would be turned into Black Ink Disciples. However, since the Humans invented Purifying Black Ink Pills, the threat of Black Ink Strength has greatly diminished.”

“Indeed.” Hei Yuan snorted, “Purifying Black Ink Pills are being used by the Humans to suppress Black Ink Strength now. If we lose this advantage, it will be useless regardless of how many soldiers we have. The Humans also have Warships. That is their biggest advantage! A Warship is the greatest weapon for both offence and defence. With only a small number of Humans controlling the vessel, it can cause severe casualties on the battlefield. If the Humans never had Warships, they would’ve been destroyed by now.”

Yang Kai played along by saying, “If the Black Ink Clan also had Warships, the Humans wouldn’t be a match for us. Unfortunately, it’s extremely difficult to refine a Warship. Only Great Grandmasters are able to do that. Although I know a thing or two about Artifact Refining, I’ll never be able to make a Warship in my lifetime regardless of how hard I try.”

Hei Yuan turned to look at him and smiled, “While you can’t do it, that doesn’t mean no one else can make it.”

Yang Kai said curiously, “Master, you mean…”

Hei Yuan went on to say, “You’re not the only one who has thought of this idea. In fact, the Royal Lord has been working towards this goal for a long time now. The Black Ink Clan has been trying to create a Warship, and we’ve achieved some success so far.”

Yang Kai instantly appeared shocked, “There’s a Great Grandmaster Artifact Refiner in the Black Ink Clan?”

Hei Yuan shook his head, “I have no idea whether he’s a Great Grandmaster. Perhaps he’s still some distance away from that rank, but he’s certainly approaching it. As time passes, he’ll be able to refine a Warship. That’s the reason I’m bringing you to the Royal City.”

Upon learning his intentions, Yang Kai said, “Master, you want me to help create a Warship?”

Hei Yuan nodded, “You’re a Great Master in Artifact Refining, so you should be able to help out; after all, there are not a lot of Artifact Refiners as capable as you in the Black Ink Clan.”

Upon hearing that, Yang Kai said, “Since it is your order, this servant will do his utmost to comply.”

Hei Yuan was apparently pleased with his response, “Just do your best when you’re there, and don’t cause trouble. If other Territory Lords have their eyes on you, just tell them you’re my Black Ink Disciple. When you manage to make a name for yourself, you’ll be a great contributor to the Black Ink Clan. I’ll reward you handsomely when the time comes.”

“You flatter me, Master. I will do my best to help.”

While facing away from him, Hei Yuan waved his hand, “We’ll reach the Royal City in a few days. You don’t have to stay here. Go get some rest.”

“Then I will retire to my room,” Yang Kai cupped his fist and stepped backwards before turning around to leave.

After he entered the room assigned to him, Yang Kai sat down with his legs crossed and fished out a set of Seventh-Order materials to cultivate.

Although he already had a speculation about Hei Yuan’s intentions, he hadn’t expected the latter to make them so clear to him while they were on their way to the destination.

After giving it a thought though, he realised that Hei Yuan must have decided to inform him about it in advance so that he wouldn’t be perplexed when they arrived at the Royal City.

Nevertheless, it never crossed Hei Yuan’s mind that it was exactly Yang Kai’s intention to sneak into the core of the Black Ink Clan’s territory.

Everything was going well, and if nothing unexpected happened, after they arrived at the Royal City, Hei Yuan would recommend Yang Kai to take part in the Warship refining project. By then, it would be easy for Yang Kai to gather information.

Having said that, there was one thing that troubled him.

How was he going to relay the information he had gathered back to Yin-Yang Pass?

It wasn’t that those from Yin-Yang Pass had neglected this issue per se, but while he could pretend to be a Black Ink Disciple and sneak into this place, sending information back remained a difficult problem. Those from Yin-Yang Pass were simply unable to solve this problem. They only told Yang Kai to come up with a way to send the information to them.

Yang Kai had been racking his brain for a long time, but he still couldn’t come up with a solution, and it was now giving him a headache.