Martial Peak
chapter-5094

The Artifact Refiners worked together to dismantle the Warship, which was yet to be completed.

Then, Nie An directly gave the order and divided the hundreds of Artifact Refiners into a dozen groups. Each group was given specific tasks according to the fields they were proficient in.

A massive amount of resources were sent to this place by the Black Ink Clan, after which the Artifact Refiners started building a new Warship.

While working hard, Yang Kai secretly observed Nie An and realised that the latter was indeed an Artifact Refining Great Grandmaster now. He had no idea how skilful Nie An was in Artifact Refining before his recent ascension, but from the looks of it, the latter was indeed a more accomplished Artifact Refiner than Wu Xing He and the others.

Perhaps he was still not comparable to Dong Guo An Ping, who was a Great Grandmaster in Blue Sky Pass; however, Dong Guo An Ping had been a Great Grandmaster for thousands of years. As a new Great Grandmaster, Nie An was naturally less experienced; however, as time passed, his achievements might be just as great as those of Dong Guo An Ping.

This person was indeed gifted when it came to Artifact Refining. It was no wonder he could transform into an influential figure from a little-known person.

Although he still wasn’t skilful enough, he was already capable of refining a functional Warship.

As Yang Kai observed with concern as the Warship in the mountain valley started taking shape after just three months. It was not different from the previously dismantled Warship when it came to its appearance, but all the Artifact Refiners in the mountain valley clearly felt that its capabilities were much greater than those of the previous version. Once it was completed, it would be good enough to be deployed on the battlefield.

The Artifact Refiners were elated at the imminent success of the project, so they spent longer hours taking part in the development of the Warship, which further accelerated the refinement process.

Yang Kai remained as Wu Xing He’s assistant.

During this period of time, with Wu Xing He’s cooperation, Yang Kai managed to dispel the Black Ink Strength within Wang Si Bo and Guan Ning.

Although these three Grandmasters were doing their best to delay the process of perfecting the Warship, they had to be cautious to prevent exposing themselves.

Day after day, with the enormous amount of resources pouring in and hundreds of Artifact Refiners working diligently, the Warship was nearing perfection.

It was also closer to the deadline Yang Kai had set almost six months ago.

One day, Yang Kai was helping Wu Xing He as usual to refine an offensive artifact to be installed on the Warship. It had only been six months since Nie An returned, but under his leadership, the hundreds of Artifact Refiners here worked together to perfect the Warship. The Warship was almost complete, but there were still some defects that had to be rectified.

As for the capabilities of this Warship, these Artifact Refiners had their own judgements; however, those could only be verified by deploying the Warship on the battlefield.

Somewhere near the Warship, Nie An was having a chat with Qing Lei, who was responsible for guarding this place.

Qing Lei had always acted aloof and arrogant in front of Wu Xing He and the others, but he was polite to Nie An. He totally regarded him as an equal, which just went to show how important Nie An was to the Black Ink Clan.

This was to be expected though as Nie An was an Eighth-Order Master as well as an Artifact Refining Great Grandmaster. Regardless of whose Black Ink Disciple he previously was, he was now working directly under Mu Guang.

Naturally, the treatment that the Royal Lord’s Black Ink Disciple received was different.

They didn’t seem to have the intention of keeping their conversation secret, so Yang Kai could hear them clearly.

Qing Lei asked, “Brother Nie, is this Warship usable now?”

With his hands behind his back, Nie An replied proudly, “Yes. After a bit of troubleshooting, it can be deployed on the battlefield.”

Upon hearing that, Qing Lei was ecstatic, “You’re indeed incredible.”

Nie An replied impassively, “This Nie certainly wouldn’t disappoint the Royal Lord.”

Qing Lei went on to ask, “How capable is this thing compared to those owned by the Humans?”

Nie An said, “It’s likely slightly inferior; however, this is a prototype. As we refine more Warships, everyone will become familiar with the process. In time, the capabilities of our Warships will improve. Soon, we’ll be able to make ones that are on par with the ones owned by the Humans. With that said, even though this Warship is less capable, it’s also much larger than the ones owned by the Humans as it’s specifically made for the Black Ink Clan. With enough people on board, this Warship will be able to deal a heavy blow to the enemy.”

Qing Lei nodded gently, “I’ll report what you’ve said to the Royal Lord.”

“Please tell the Royal Lord that one Warship will not be useful on the battlefield. It would be better to make a number of them first so that we can catch the Humans off guard.”

Qing Lei grinned, “With you working for the Royal Lord, it’s as great as owning an entire army.”

“Many thanks for your compliment, Brother Qing Lei.”

Qing Lei decided to end their conversation here, “I’ll head to the Royal City now and tell the Royal Lord about this piece of good news. I’m sure the Royal Lord will be pleased. I’ll leave affairs here to you.”

“It’s my duty,” Nie An nodded lightly.

The next instant, Qing Lei shot into the sky and headed towards the portal.

As Yang Kai and Wu Xing He exchanged glances, a glint flashed through their eyes.

A moment later, a faint fluctuation of Space Principles was felt coming from the portal. Apparently, Qing Lei had left this Sealed World.

Upon that confirmation, Yang Kai nodded at Wu Xing He and got up before shuffling forward in a different direction.

When he passed by Wang Si Bo, he secretly said, “The time has come.”

Wang Si Bo halted what he was doing and nodded almost imperceptibly.

Then, Yang Kai brushed past Guan Ning and told him the same thing.

A moment later, Wu Xing He suddenly got up and called out, “Senior Brother Nie!”

Nie An was in a nearby place. Upon hearing that, he turned his head and frowned, “What’s wrong?”

Wu Xing He said, “There’s a slight problem here. I need you to have a look at it.”

Despite being bloated, the unsuspecting Nie An appeared in front of him the next instant, “What’s the problem?”

Wu Xing He pointed at the offensive artifact he was refining, “There seems to be a problem with this artifact. Should I refine a new one?”

Nie An turned to look at the artifact and picked it up before examining it. A moment later, he snapped with a dark expression, “Waste! You’ve basically ruined this artifact! How do you have the nerve to call yourself an Artifact Refining Grandmaster?”

To the side, Wu Xing He didn’t dare to say anything, but in the next instant he caught a glimpse of Yang Kai appearing behind Nie An like a phantom. Yellow and blue light appeared on his palms as energy fluctuated. The moment he clapped his hands, those lights turned into a pure white light and engulfed Nie An.

Seeing that, Wu Xing He did not hesitate to execute the original plan as he dashed towards the defensive array and infused his power into it.

In the meantime, in two different places around the Warship, Wang Si Bo and Guan Ning acted according to Yang Kai’s instructions. The instant they detected the surge of energy, they promptly infused their powers into the defensive arrays.

Three defensive arrays were simultaneously activated by three Seventh-Order Open Heaven Realm Masters and a huge light barrier instantly covered the entire Warship.

The sudden change happening on the Warship instantly caught the attention of the Black Ink Clansmen nearby. As they turned their heads to look, however, they realised they were unable to see anything clearly as the Warship was engulfed in a solid light barrier which looked like a membrane that prevented anyone from peering through it.

This made all the Black Ink Clansmen feel shocked and doubtful. Having no idea what was going on with the Warship, they began to gather around.

None of them could have expected that a plan that was a long time in the making was unfolding right before their eyes.

While the Black Ink Clansmen were caught off guard, Nie An also hadn’t expected that someone would launch a sneak attack on him.

The moment Yang Kai engulfed him with the Purifying Light, Nie An turned around and felt an instinctive disgust towards the white light. He quickly snapped, “You court death!”

As his Eighth-Order Open Heaven Realm power burst forth, he threw out his fist.

A grunt was heard as someone was sent flying away; however, the white light had already covered Nie An completely. In an instant, he wailed in pain as the Black Ink Strength in his body gushed out of his body, as though it was facing its nemesis. The Black Ink Strength was soon dispersed and purified.

Nie An’s expression was transformed by fear and horror. The violent aura around him became even more dangerous and the sarcomas on his skin started bulging as black pus spewed out of them.

Just moments later, all the Black Ink Strength in his Small Universe was dispelled by the Purifying Light, and without its support, he was unable to bear his own Eighth-Order cultivation.

He widened his eyes as the veins on his forehead throbbed. While he looked horrible, his already bloated figure started expanding rapidly like a balloon.

He shook a little as he extended his hands in an attempt to grab something, but he was unable to do anything in the end.

Following a loud boom, he exploded and turned into hashed meat and blood.

Just like Yang Kai had said to Wu Xing He before, he didn’t need to directly deal with Nie An in order to kill him. Nie An acquired his Eighth-Order cultivation through the help of Black Ink Strength; hence, without the Black Ink Strength’s support, his own cultivation would kill him.

Yang Kai didn’t even need to fight with him; just by activating Purifying Light to dispel the Black Ink Strength in his body, he could easily dispatch Nie An.

Having said that, Nie An was still an Eighth-Order Open Heaven Realm Master. If they really got into a fight, Yang Kai might not be a match for him.

The moment the Eighth-Order Open Heaven Realm Master detonated, a violent force spread across the Warship and caused the people on the deck to fall to the ground. The Artifact Refiners closest to Nie An had all collapsed while the bow of the Warship was destroyed upon impact. Even the light barrier around the Warship bulged.

As Yang Kai coughed, he struggled out of the wreckage with a flushing face.

Nie An’s last desperate strike managed to hurt him, but that was inevitable, for they were basically at arm’s length from each other at that time. Despite being a Master in the Dao of Space, Yang Kai couldn’t dodge the final strike of an Eighth-Order Master before his death.

Fortunately, everything was going according to plan.

Since Nie An was dead, the Black Ink Clan’s plan would come to a halt. Other than this new Great Grandmaster, no one else could help them build Warships that would be used against the Humans.

It could be said that Yang Kai had completed half of his task just by killing Nie An. Even if he was unable to escape now, he would die with no regrets.