Martial Peak
chapter-5090

In the blink of an eye, three years had passed since Yang Kai arrived at this Sealed World.

During this period of time, the Warship was continuously improved. On the other hand, Yang Kai’s skills in Artifact Refining also grew day by day. When he was a newcomer back then, his skills in Artifact Refining were inferior to those of Sun Jiu; however, three years later, he was now a much better Artifact Refiner than the latter.

Although he still wasn’t a Grandmaster, he had grown to be a more accomplished Artifact Refiner than before.

Even though it had something to do with his aptitude and hard work, his conversations with the other Artifact Refiners had helped him grow rapidly as well.

Wu Xing He’s attentive guidance was especially important in this regard.

It should be noted that before Yang Kai left Blue Sky Pass, he had spent 10 years studying Artifact Refining, and his teacher was an Artifact Refining Grandmaster like Chai Hao. During that period of time, Chai Hao selflessly taught Yang Kai all of the Divine Cauldron Cave Heaven’s Secret Techniques in Artifact Refining.

Yang Kai’s knowledge of Artifact Refining was just as great as that of any Grandmaster, what he lacked were practice and experience.

After he arrived at the Black Ink Clan’s domain, he spent 8 years refining artifacts for Feudal Lords. As a result, his skills in Artifact Refining improved tremendously.

Now, he was sent to this Sealed World as he spent his days with a Grandmaster like Wu Xing He and a Great Master like Sun Jiu. It was expected that he would reach greater heights in the Dao of Artifact Refining.

Over the years, Wu Xing He realised Yang Kai’s talent in Artifact Refining and witnessed his growth, so he spent even more time giving him guidance. Even Wang Si Bo and Guan Ning now saw Yang Kai in a different light after observing his performance. Whenever Yang Kai had any questions regarding Artifact Refining, these two Grandmasters would teach him everything they knew.

As Yang Kai intentionally got closer to them, he formed a strong bond with these three Grandmasters over the past three years.

After three years of observation and planning, Yang Kai already had a vague plan in mind. If this plan could be carried out successfully, not only would he be able to crush the Black Ink Clan’s dream of building Warships, he could also escape unscathed.

However, it was difficult to execute this plan, for there were a lot of factors that were beyond his control. A slight problem could completely derail his plan; therefore, even though he already had a plan, he was still waiting for a suitable opportunity.

One day, Yang Kai, who was swamped with work, suddenly looked up and saw a figure flashing across the sky above the mountain valley. The figure was heading towards the Sealed World’s portal.

That figure was none other than Qing Lei, who was responsible for guarding this place.

There were a total of two Territory Lords and about 100 Feudal Lords here, with a large number of High-Rank Black Ink Clansmen accompanying them. One of the Territory Lords, Mei Qiong, was responsible for guarding the portal while Qing Lei was tasked with monitoring the Artifact Refiners who were developing the Warship in the mountain valley.

Basically, Mei Qiong would never leave the portal. On the other hand, even though Qing Lei stayed in the palace above the mountain valley most of the time, he would leave this Sealed World every six months.

Yang Kai had asked Wu Xing He about it, and according to the latter, Mu Guang regarded the development of the Warship extremely highly, so the Royal Lord wanted Qing Lei to head to the Royal City to make a progress report to her every six months.

Every time Qing Lei returned from the Royal City, he would take Wu Xing He and the other Grandmasters to task and urge them to finish perfecting the Warship as quickly as possible. He had probably been reprimanded by the Royal Lord, which led to him venting his anger on these Human Artifact Refiners.

Nevertheless, perfecting a Warship was highly dependent on their skills in Artifact Refining. Although Wu Xing He and the others were Artifact Refining Grandmasters, they were unable to create something as great as the Warships owned by the Humans; therefore, the same scene would repeat itself every six months.

The reason Qing Lei suddenly left his Grand Hall must be that he had to head to the Royal City to report on the progress as usual.

As expected, a moment later, Yang Kai felt a faint fluctuation of Space Principles coming from the portal which soon disappeared.

It must be the movement from opening and closing the portal. The duration was short, so the average Seventh-Order Open Heaven Realm Masters might not be able to detect it; however, to a Master in the Dao of Space like Yang Kai, he could easily sense such a fluctuation.

Yang Kai waited for a bit to make sure that Qing Lei was gone before he put down what was in his hands and said to Sun Jiu, “Junior Brother Sun, I’m exhausted. I’m going to rest for a bit.”

Looking up, Sun Jiu saw that Yang Kai’s face was pale, and his aura was weak; therefore, he nodded and replied, “Sure thing, Senior Brother Yang. Just leave it to me.”

Artifact Refiners were treated well in this place; nevertheless, it required a lot of energy to refine artifacts, so the Artifact Refiners would frequently use up their energy and need to rest. Yang Kai’s request wasn’t unusual, so Sun Jiu wasn’t surprised one bit.

“Many thanks, Junior Brother,” Yang Kai said, then leaped off the Warship and flew towards the place where the Artifact Refiners resided.

Instead of returning to his place though, he headed straight to a certain three-storey building.

This was where Wu Xing He resided. As one of the three Artifact Refining Grandmasters, the treatment he received was naturally better than the other Artifact Refiners.

Yang Kai visited this place frequently because he would ask Wu Xing He questions about Artifact Refining from time to time. Half a day ago, Wu Xing He had returned to his home to get some rest as he was exhausted. Now, he should be inside this building.

Despite seeing all this from afar, the Black Ink Clansmen, who were patrolling around the area, didn’t come over and question Yang Kai; instead, they just walked on by.

Yang Kai knocked on the restriction and called out, “Senior Brother Wu!”

Moments later, the restriction around the building was deactivated and Yang Kai pushed the door open and entered.

When he reached the second floor, he saw that Wu Xing He was seated with his legs crossed on his bed. There was a set of Seventh-Order materials around him and the energy fluctuations around him suggested that he was refining those resources.

“Senior Brother Wu!” Yang Kai cupped his fist at him.

Despite being disturbed while getting some rest, Wu Xing He was not annoyed; instead, he looked curiously at Yang Kai and asked, “What’s wrong, Junior Brother Yang?”

Yang Kai replied, “I faced a problem when I was refining a certain material earlier. I wanted to ask you about it.”

Wu Xing He asked, “What kind of problem did you face?”

“The thing is, when I was refining an Eighth-Order Fire Stone, I used the Landslide Technique that you taught me; however, I realised that it slightly damaged the integrity of the Fire Stone. Why is that?”

As he spoke, he shuffled towards Wu Xing He. Seeing that the older man was deep in thought, Yang Kai swiftly manipulated the local Space Principles.

In an instant, space was frozen solid.

Wu Xing He was pondering on Yang Kai’s question when the turn of events took place, so he hadn’t been able to react at all. When he looked up, he saw that Yang Kai had clapped his hands together as a dazzling light came right at him.

A dumbstruck Wu Xing He had never expected that Yang Kai would launch a sneak attack on him and instinctually wanted to resist.

However, he had been resting here because he was exhausted from artifact refining, so he didn’t have much energy to begin with. Furthermore, since he became a Black Ink Disciple, he had been focusing on improving his Artifact Refining skills following the Black Ink Clan’s orders and had not fought with anyone for the past 1,000 years. Therefore, despite being a Seventh-Order Open Heaven Realm Master, he was unable to fully utilise his power.

On the other hand, Yang Kai was an experienced fighter whose strength significantly surpassed the other cultivators in the same Order; hence, it was expected that Wu Xing He was unable to counterattack or even resist.

Before Wu Xing He could even condense his World Force, his forehead was slapped by Yang Kai. A horrifying power penetrated his Small Universe and caused him to fall into a dazed state. Following that, the dazzling and pure light completely engulfed him.

A strange sound was then heard. While Wu Xing He was engulfed in the white light, something like a dark fog began leaking from his body and was purified into nothingness.

He appeared to be in pain, but his expression soon became tranquil.

A moment later, Yang Kai retracted his hands and vigilantly paid attention to the surroundings.

After letting Yang Kai in earlier, Wu Xing He reactivated the restriction to prevent anyone from disturbing them; however, Yang Kai was still worried that his actions would attract the Black Ink Clan’s attention.

That was the reason he had to wait for Qing Lei to leave before making a move. Qing Lei was a Territory Lord after all, so if he noticed the anomaly, Yang Kai wouldn’t be a match for him.

Fortunately, Yang Kai acted swiftly and decisively. Only a few breaths of time had passed since he activated Purifying Light; furthermore, he deliberately sealed the surrounding space and made sure that Wu Xing He was unable to resist. Hence, the restriction around the building was not triggered.

[Everything is going well!] Upon making sure that the Black Ink Clan were not alerted, Yang Kai let out a breath.

“Forgive my disrespect, Senior Brother Wu!” Yang Kai apologised to him and sat down cross-legged in front of him.

Presently, Wu Xing He’s face was pale; after all, Yang Kai’s palms did not only contain the Purifying Light, but also his own power, which penetrated Wu Xing He’s Small Universe and caused it to shake. That was how he suppressed Wu Xing He and made sure the latter couldn’t resist.

When Wu Xing He heard the other man’s voice, his vision refocused. While staring fixedly at his face, he said doubtfully, “You…”

With a solemn expression, Yang Kai said, “Senior Brother Wu, what I’m about to tell you might sound inconceivable, but you have to believe that what I’m going to say is true. We don’t have much time left, so I’ll be blunt; first of all, you should know that I was never corrupted by Black Ink Strength, nor am I a Black Ink Disciple. I’m simply pretending to be one.”

“I knew it!” Although Wu Xing He appeared shocked, he was also relieved.

The Black Ink Strength in his Small Universe had been rapidly purified, so the moment he regained his senses as a Human, he suspected that Yang Kai had never been corrupted by Black Ink Strength.

After all, Yang Kai was able to dispel the Black Ink Strength in his body, so there was no way he would be corrupted.

Now, it indeed seemed to be the case. Yang Kai had been pretending to be a Black Ink Disciple, and he had managed to fool the Black Ink Clan.

“What kind of technique was that?” Wu Xing He asked curiously.

“It’s called Purifying Light,” Yang Kai explained, “It could be said to be the nemesis of Black Ink Strength. It’s something that the Humans mastered a few dozen years ago.”

Upon hearing his explanation, Wu Xing He muttered, “It’s no wonder the Black Ink Clan have been talking about there being no new Black Ink Disciples recently. So, that’s the reason.” He paused for a moment and asked, “Can the Purifying Light prevent me from being corrupted again?”

Yang Kai shook his head, “No. If you come into contact with Black Ink Strength again, you’ll still be corrupted. Fortunately, there’s no Black Ink Nest in this Sealed World, nor is it filled with Black Ink Strength, so as long as you’re careful enough, you won’t be corrupted by Black Ink Strength.”