Martial Peak
chapter-5155

There were only two transit Universe Arrays between Blue Sky Pass and the forward base, so after passing the second, it would only take a month for the reinforcements to reach their final destination. For Yang Kai, that would mean that he had basically completed the task assigned to him. The rest would be handled by Ding Yao and Liang Yu Long, who would be assigning the newcomers to their respective Squads and roles.

After several small skirmishes, the morale of the newcomers was at an all-time high, and some overly excited ones were even encouraging Yang Kai to look around to see if they could find more Black Ink Clansmen.

Yang Kai naturally wouldn’t agree to their request; thus, many of the excited newcomers soon grew bored.

On the deck, Grandmaster Ma Fan suddenly whispered, “Is there something wrong?”

Yang Kai turned to look at him, “Grandmaster, why would you suddenly ask such a question?”

Grandmaster Ma Fan frowned and shook his head, “I can’t say for certain, but it feels as though you’re concealing something.”

Yang Kai smiled, “What could I possibly be concealing? Everyone here is still new to the Black Ink Battlefield, but they will all one day experience what it’s like to suffer a loss here. Through that pain, they’ll be able to wise up. Of course, if everything remains so smooth, it won’t be good either. They’ll start to get too prideful and arrogant. The Black Ink Clansmen we’ve encountered so far were all not strong and they were few in number, so they were easy to deal with. But, if we come across a large Army, like those during the siege, it will be different.”

Grandmaster Ma Fan looked at him, still suspicious, even though he knew that Yang Kai’s words were right.

At that moment, Yang Kai gently clapped his hands, attracting the attention of all the newcomers, “You’re all new here, but now that you’ve seen Black Ink Clansmen, and even killed some of them, I need to warn you. Don’t think that they will always be as weak as this. If you dare to think in this manner, you probably won’t be far from your graves. The Black Ink Clan is an extremely difficult race to deal with. Their numbers are inexhaustible, and they will stop at nothing till they kill us all. What’s more, they have all kinds of strange and insidious abilities. For countless years, the Human Race has fought against them on this Black Ink Battlefield and guarded the tranquility of the 3,000 Worlds with only one principle, be cautious and careful. I hope that after you arrive at the forward base and join your respective Squads, you can also learn from our predecessors. Only by surviving can you kill more Black Ink Clansmen. Carelessness will only lead to annihilation.”

Many newcomers listened openly and nodded lightly, but some did not move and remained silent; after all, they were all in the Sixth Order and above. None of them could be considered children. They had been cultivating for so many years, so they knew the truth and felt they did not need to be lectured like this.

Yang Kai took a look around of the crowd for a moment, smiling lightly before he turned to look at a particular individual and asked, “Junior Brother Zhang Zhou, do you have anything to add?”

Zhang Zhou was startled and slowly shook his head, “No.”

Yang Kai seemed to be anticipating something as he smiled warmly, “Is there really nothing you’d like to say?”

Zhang Zhou frowned slightly but didn’t say a word.

Just when the newcomers were wondering why Yang Kai suddenly called out Zhang Zhou, the latter suddenly pushed his aura. His World Force rumbled, and he slammed a palm to the side.

When this sudden change happened, no one managed to react, not even Grandmaster Ma Fan who was standing nearby.

Standing beside Zhang Zhou were a few Sixth-Order Masters. They were caught completely unprepared while Zhang Zhou was merciless with his strike. With the power of this palm, these Sixth-Order Open Heaven Realm Masters would be gravely injured even if they did not die.

However, his palm was abruptly stopped.

Almost immediately after he made his move, Yang Kai had rushed towards Zhang Zhou. When the two palms collided, World Force rampaged. The fallout of an exchange between two Masters in the Seventh Order was extremely violent, and the shockwave was so strong it split the boat in half.

Only then did the newcomers realize that something was wrong and they all spread out.

When they looked back, Yang Kai was already fighting with Zhang Zhou. Both of them were extremely fast, and neither had any intention of defending at all. They simply continued to attack each other recklessly.

Cultivators from Asura Cave Heaven were like this. No matter how gentle and elegant they appeared in normal times, once they fought they would change into complete madmen. Even so, the newcomers didn’t expect that the genial Senior Brother, who came to welcome their batch of newcomers, would be even stronger and more ferocious than Zhang Zhou.

No one could understand what was happening, except for Grandmaster Ma Fan, who frowned thoughtfully.

As the battle continued, many people still could not comprehend what had happened. Nonetheless, they grew more curious about Yang Kai’s identity.

After all, all cultivators from Asura Cave Heaven were crazy when in battle. Even if they were in the same Realm, cultivators from the other Cave Heavens and Paradises were not willing to easily clash with those from Asura Cave Heaven. Mainly because they really went for the kill when they fought.

Even Zhang Zhou, who was just a newcomer and who had just advanced to the Seventh Order, was not weaker than most veterans in the Seventh Order who had advanced more than 100 years ago.

Even in the face of the most senior Seventh-Order Masters, Zhang Zhou could still put up a fight.

Therefore, many newcomers were surprised when they saw that Yang Kai had suppressed Zhang Zhou within just a few breaths of time.

Just next to Grandmaster Ma Fan, a Seventh-Order Master frowned and asked, “Grandmaster, which Cave Heaven or Paradise does this Senior Brother come from?”

Although they had been together for so many days, and Yang Kai was the person responsible for welcoming and guiding them, he had never once introduced himself. Meanwhile, the newcomers had only been thinking about fighting the Black Ink Clan so no one had asked about his origins. As a result, until now, no one knew much about Yang Kai, only that he was in the Seventh-Order Masters from some Cave Heaven or Paradise.

Grandmaster Ma Fan slowly sighed, “He’s not from any of the Cave Heavens or Paradises, he is the Lord of the Star Boundary.”

The person who asked the question was surprised, “The Lord of the Star Boundary?”

Someone suddenly remembered something, raised his brow and said, “The one who left Black Territory to seal up a Void Corridor?”

Black Territory and the Royal Lord there was a major event in the 3,000 Worlds. During that time, there was a lot of noise inside every Cave Heaven and Paradise and many had participated in the battle to kill the Royal Lord. All those who were sent to fight were in the Seventh Order or above. As for those who did not participate, many had still heard about Yang Kai before as his name was just that famous. However, there were only a handful of people who had met him in person, so it was only natural that they could not recognise him.

“En, him!” Grandmaster Ma Fan nodded.

“So that’s why. No wonder Senior Brother Yang can easily suppress Zhang Zhou,” Someone sighed with emotion.

Yang Kai’s deeds were practically legendary in the 3,000 Worlds. When he was still in the Emperor Realm, he stirred up the entire 3,000 Worlds because he wanted to directly ascend to the Seventh-Order Open Heaven Realm. As a result, it attracted the joint suppression of several Cave Heavens and Paradises. When he was just a Sixth-Order Master, he fought with and killed a Master in the Seventh-Order from Thousand Cranes Paradise. Even so, the event that really made him famous was the war in Black Territory.

After fighting in that great battle, he alone dove into a Void Corridor, using his mastery over the Dao of Space to seal it. He had not returned, and there was no news of him since then.

Such a legend had actually been standing amongst them, yet none of them knew. However, if they thought about it carefully, he was indeed one of the few people who could possibly set foot in the Black Ink Battlefield without having any Cave Heaven or Paradise behind him.

“Grandmaster, why did Senior Brother Zhang Zhou suddenly try to kill me?” Someone asked.

Grandmaster Ma Fan sighed, “Before you came here, you must have been given some information by your Elders, right? They must have at least warned you about the dangers of the Black Ink Battlefield. Zhang Zhou is someone from Asura Cave Heaven, so there would obviously be no reason for him to suddenly attack his allies if he was still sane. Since he did so, there must be a reason for it, and you all must have your own guesses. So, why bother to ask this Old Master?”

Someone immediately exclaimed, “Senior Brother Zhang Zhou was corrupted by Black Ink Strength!”

Grandmaster Ma Fan nodded, “Besides that, there is no other explanation. Zhang Zhou is now a Black Ink Disciple.”

“But, when did he get corrupted by Black Ink Strength? I’ve been around him this whole time and didn’t notice anything strange.”

Grandmaster Ma Fan thought carefully, “Didn’t Zhang Zhou dive into a Black Ink Cloud to pursue that Feudal Lord some time ago? It is most likely when that happened. He must have been invaded by Black Ink Strength at that time.”

Everyone was busy killing the enemy except for Grandmaster Ma Fan, who did not make a move at the time; thus, he noticed some finer details that others had missed.

It was now obvious that when Zhang Zhou returned, Yang Kai had already noticed and that was the reason he asked Zhang Zhou if something was wrong. Otherwise, there was no way to explain what happened next, let alone explain why Zhang Zhou suddenly attacked and Yang Kai could stop him in time.

Yang Kai had clearly been waiting for this to happen.

At this thought, Grandmaster Ma Fan snickered and shook his head. Yang Kai was aware of this and was confident he could deal with it; thus, there was no need to worry about anything else.

[That brat most likely didn’t immediately resolve the issue because he wanted to take this opportunity to teach these newcomers a lesson. It didn’t have to be Zhang Zhou who got corrupted, it just happened to be him, so Yang Boy just made use of it.]

It was just as Yang Kai had said: People grew from experiences, especially painful ones. On the Black Ink Battlefield, being arrogant and prideful would never end well, even more so for someone like Zhang Zhou who advanced directly into the Seventh Order and was raised by Asura Cave Heaven. He was the best of the best, so it was only natural for him to grow arrogant.

Even when Zhang Zhou noticed himself being invaded by Black Ink Strength, his first instinct was to solve the issue himself, so he was unwilling to ask others for help. Unfortunately, he overestimated his own ability and underestimated the horror of Black Ink Strength. Now, after being fully corrupted, he had degenerated into a Black Ink disciple.

“Grandmaster, do we need to help?” Someone asked.

Since this was the legendary Yang Kai, who was able to kill someone in the Seventh Order when he was only in Sixth Order, now that he was in the Seventh Order, he naturally would not face any issues dealing with Zhang Zhou; however, different situations had their own difficulties. With the strength Yang Kai had shown, it was clear he would easily be able to defeat Zhang Zhou, but it might prove difficult to capture him alive.

However, if the Grandmaster took action, there would certainly not be any problems.

Still, Grandmaster Ma Fan shook his head and said, “No need. The outcome has already been decided.”

Everyone turned their heads back and saw Zhang Zhou’s figure becoming more and more sluggish. It was as if he was slowly sinking into a swamp. Every time he moved, Space Principles would bind him down more intensely.

Soon, pitch-black Black Ink Strength poured out from Zhang Zhou’s body, and even his eyes turned black, making him look extremely ominous.

However, no matter how hard he struggled, he could not extricate himself from his situation.

His movements were getting smaller and smaller, as if he was chained by invisible forces, and after a while, he was completely unable to move despite the surging Black Ink Strength inside and outside of him.

Yang Kai then stretched out his hand and dragged Zhang Zhou back to the crowd of newcomers.

The newcomers swiftly distanced themselves. They did not want to be contaminated by Black Ink Strength, after all. However, at this moment, they were thoroughly shocked. No one expected that two people, who were both in the Seventh-Order Open Heaven Realm, would have such a decisive winner, and that one of them would be easily captured alive.

To be able to do this meant that Yang Kai had completely eclipsed Zhang Zhou in terms of strength…