Martial Peak
chapter-5091

Yang Kai was relieved at the fact that the Black Ink Clan had set up their Warship development site in this Sealed World. This gave him room to carry out his plan.

Just like he had said, there was no Black Ink Nest in this Sealed World, nor was it flooded with Black Ink Strength; therefore, as long as Wu Xing He was careful enough, he wouldn’t risk getting corrupted again.

It wouldn’t have been possible in any other Black Ink Clan territory as they were all practically filled with Black Ink Strength. Even if Yang Kai helped dispel the Black Ink Strength in Wu Xing He’s body using Purifying Light, the latter would soon be corrupted again. When that happened, Yang Kai’s identity would be exposed. How could he carry out his plans in such an environment?

“Senior Brother Wu, I’m from Yin-Yang Pass. On the Army Commanders’ orders, I’ve come here to look for Artifact Refiners like you all who are developing the Warship for the Black Ink Clan and make sure that this project fails. On the other hand, you’re the first breakthrough point I’ve selected. I’ll need you to work with me for the following plan. Qing Lei has just left the Sealed World. Based on past experiences, I believe he’ll return in half a day. That’s the amount of time we have.”

There was a solemn expression on Wu Xing He’s face as he asked, “What’s your plan? What do you want me to do?”

Yang Kai replied, “First of all, I need you to lure Senior Brother Wang and Senior Brother Guan to this place. I’ll make a move and purify the Black Ink Strength in their bodies so that they will regain their senses as Humans. Although they’re Seventh-Order Open Heaven Realm Masters, they’ve been completely focused on Artifact Refining for centuries now so their fighting instincts have grown dull. If we work together and launch a sneak attack on them, there shouldn’t be a problem. Then, I want the three of you to gather all the Artifact Refiners together. I’ll dispel the Black Ink Strength in their bodies at once so that they can recover their true selves.”

Of all the Artifact Refiners, Wu Xing He and the other two were not only Artifact Refining Grandmasters but also Seventh-Order Open Heaven Realm Masters. The other Artifact Refiners were much weaker. Other than the fact that they were less competent than the three of them when it came to Artifact Refining, they were mostly in the Fifth-Order and Sixth-Order Open Heaven Realm; therefore, as long as Yang Kai could settle Wu Xing He and the other two, the rest of the Artifact Refiners wouldn’t be an issue.

Wu Xing He nodded gently, “And then? Assuming that everything goes to plan and the Black Ink Clan are not alerted, how are you going to leave this Sealed World? Although Qing Lei is not around, Mei Qiong would never leave the portal. If you can’t defeat him, you’ll never be able to leave this Sealed World. Moreover, you have to bring so many of us with you.”

Yang Kai replied, “Other than the three of you, I can keep the rest of the Artifact Refiners inside my Small Universe. It’s not a problem to bring them with me. However, the three of you are in the same Order as me, so I can’t keep you inside my Small Universe. Therefore, I need you three to sacrifice a part of your Small Universes so you regress to the Sixth Order.”

Upon hearing that, Wu Xing He was astounded, “You want to escape this place on your own?”

With a serious expression, Yang Kai replied, “Other than me, all of you are not able to resist Black Ink Strength. Only by staying inside my Small Universe would you be safe.”

Wu Xing He frowned, “But that will be a huge burden on you.”

These 300 Artifact Refiners were all Open Heaven Realm Masters. If they all entered his Small Universe, it would be a tremendous burden on Yang Kai. As a result, his strength would undoubtedly be affected.

Yang Kai was already less powerful than Mei Qiong to begin with, so if his abilities were further weakened, he wouldn’t have any chance of escaping from Mei Qiong.

Yang Kai said, “I can deal with 300 people staying inside my Small Universe. There will be some negative impact, but it won’t be an issue. On the other hand, it’s indeed difficult to deal with Mei Qiong as he would never leave the portal. There are no other ways apart from trying to force my way out of this Sealed World. Certainly, it would be wonderful if I can fool him into opening the portal for me; however, as soon as I make a move here, the Black Ink Clansmen around us will notice. There’s no way we can do it secretly.”

Wu Xing He nodded, “So, your plan is to bring us all away so that the Black Ink Clan will never be able to finish this Warship.”

“It’s indeed a simple plan, but it’s also the best way to crush their ambitions once and for all.” Yang Kai let out a breath, “Is there a problem with this plan?”

Wu Xing He stared fixedly at him and replied, “There’s a big problem with this plan.”

Certainly, Yang Kai knew that there were all sorts of problems with his plan. Nevertheless, he was on his own in this Sealed World where he was surrounded by enemies. Even the Artifact Refiners could be considered the Black Ink Clan’s allies, so any negligence would cause his plan to be exposed earlier than he had hoped. Unfortunately, he didn’t have a better solution.

Therefore, he wasn’t surprised when Wu Xing He said there was a problem with his plan and he simply asked humbly, “What is it?”

Wu Xing He replied, “Even if you successfully bring all of us away, you still can’t stop the Black Ink Clan from developing a Warship.”

Yang Kai furrowed his brow and asked, “Why is that?”

Wu Xing He explained, “That’s because we’re not the ones leading the development of the Warship. Although Wang Si Bo, Guan Ning, and I are contributing to this project, we’re just assistants. There’s someone else who is in charge of this project.”

Yang Kai was flabbergasted, “Really? Who is it? I thought the three of you are the only Artifact Refining Grandmasters here.”

Wu Xing He let out a sigh, “A person named Nie An. He’s more talented than Wang Si Bo, Guan Ning, and me when it comes to Artifact Refining, and he’s just one step away from becoming a Great Grandmaster.”

Yang Kai was dumbfounded, “Nie An… Why have you all never mentioned him before?”

It had been three years since he arrived at this Sealed World. Although Yang Kai had tried to gather information through his conversations with other Black Ink Disciples, he had never heard of this Nie An before. That led him to believe that Wu Xing He and the other two Grandmasters were the ones who were in charge of this project. If the person in charge of developing the Warship was someone else, Yang Kai’s plan naturally wouldn’t work.

Just like Wu Xing He had said, even if he managed to bring all of the Artifact Refiners here away, he still couldn’t stop the Black Ink Clan from developing a Warship. That was because the key person behind this project was someone he had never met before.

In fact, if Yang Kai hadn’t prepared to carry out his plan on this day, he would never have found out about it.

“He’s not in this Sealed World, so no one would talk about him in front of you.”

Yang Kai’s plan was thoroughly derailed now, but he soon composed himself. That was because he knew that there would always be factors that were beyond his control, so he had to play it by ear. It was just that a variable like Nie An had appeared now.

“What’s his background?” Yang Kai asked curiously.

Wu Xing He, Wang Si Bo, and Guan Ning were on the list given to him by Tang Qiu, but Nie An was not. Where did he come from?

“I know little about his background,” Wu Xing He shook his head, “Although we’ve spent many years together, we don’t really talk to each other. Other than the discussions on Artifact Refining, we rarely come into contact with one another. Moreover, he’s an arrogant person because of his talent in Artifact Refining. He doesn’t even have any regard for me. More importantly, it’s said that he’s the one who initiated the plan to build a Warship for the Black Ink Clan.”

“He was?” Yang Kai said through clenched teeth. However, as a Black Ink Disciple, Nie An was loyal to the Black Ink Clan. Since they were on different sides, it couldn’t be said that Nie An had betrayed the Humans.

“Rumour has it that he doesn’t have an outstanding aptitude. When he was corrupted by Black Ink Strength and became a Black Ink Disciple, he was not valued by the Black Ink Clan at all. He almost lost his life on several occasions when he was brought to the battlefield. Before he became a Black Ink Disciple, he had never come into contact with the Dao of Artifact Refining. When he saw that the Artifact Refiners were valued by the Black Ink Clan, he decided to study the Dao of Artifact Refining. That was when his life changed. Although his aptitude in cultivation is average, he’s extremely gifted in the Dao of Artifact Refining. In a short time, he significantly improved his skills in Artifact Refining and became a Grandmaster. Then, he launched the project of building a Warship, which gained the support of the Black Ink Clan. However, despite being a Grandmaster, he’s still struggling to build a Warship. As you can see, the Warship in the mountain valley is not comparable to true Warships.”

Yang Kai nodded, “Since he’s the one who has proposed building a Warship, where is he? Why have I not seen him over the past three years?”

Wu Xing He replied, “He’s trying to achieve a breakthrough right now. Given his aptitude in Artifact Refining, he could grow to be a Great Grandmaster; however, you’re also aware that it requires both skill in Artifact Refining and powerful cultivation to become a Great Grandmaster. A person has to be in the Eighth-Order Open Heaven Realm to become a Great Grandmaster.”

“He’s trying to break through to the Eighth-Order Open Heaven Realm?” Yang Kai was astonished.

Wu Xing He nodded solemnly, “Indeed. I don’t know whether he’ll succeed. In fact, one year before your arrival, he was already taken away by the Black Ink Clan to prepare to break through to the Eighth Order.”

Although the environment in this Sealed World was terrific, it was still a Sealed World after all. As Nie An wanted to ascend to the Eighth Order, this place was naturally not suitable. That was the reason he had left this place many years ago. This led Yang Kai to believe that Wu Xing He and the other two Grandmasters were the ones in charge of this project.

This kind of misunderstanding could have led to severe consequences had he acted rashly.

It couldn’t be helped though, as no one had mentioned Nie An to Yang Kai before, so how was he supposed to know that this guy was the key person behind this project?

“Senior Brother Wu, you said that Nie An’s aptitude in cultivation wasn’t high?” Yang Kai suddenly thought of something.

“Yes. He was already a Seventh-Order Open Heaven Realm Master when he left; however, even that was because he had the help of Black Ink Strength. His original limit was the Sixth Order,” Wu Xing He replied.

Yang Kai was dumbfounded.

Nie An’s original limit was the Sixth-Order. In other words, he had originally broken through to the Fourth-Order Open Heaven Realm. This kind of aptitude was indeed average among the Cave Heavens and Paradises.

However, Black Ink Strength could help an Open Heaven Realm Master break through their limits. Nie An, whose limit was the Sixth Order, was already a Seventh-Order Open Heaven Realm Master when he left this Sealed World and he was now going to attempt breaking through to the Eighth Order.

It was no wonder Wu Xing He said that this guy was an arrogant person. As far as Yang Kai knew, Open Heaven Realm Masters who managed to break through their natural limits with the help of Black Ink Strength would have their temperaments changed drastically, just like Liu Zi An, who was Gui Liao’s Black Ink Disciple.

Moreover, when Black Ink Disciples tried breaking through their limits, they had to face a huge risk and any negligence would cause them to self-destruct.

Yang Kai had witnessed such an incident in the Black Prison many years ago.

Nie An was already lucky enough to have ascended to the Seventh Order, and he was now trying to make it to the Eighth Order. This was no different from committing suicide.