Martial Peak
chapter-5160

In the matters of cultivation, one’s own state of mind was the most important. Since Feng Ying was so meticulous, Yang Kai naturally wouldn’t add anything.

Following this small event, Dawn continued with its hunting mission in their designated area. According to the past rules, such missions would be carried out for half a year.

Two months later, Dawning Light was flying across the void.

Yang Kai was standing on the deck, using his Divine Sense to search for the enemy, when Feng Ying suddenly approached him and reported, “Squad Leader, there’s something wrong.”

“You also felt so?” Yang Kai looked at her.

Feng Ying added, “Obviously, this region has never been explored before and the Black Ink Clan is quite active here. If it was our Dawn as the vanguard, it would be reasonable as we have a higher degree of strength and thus a better chance of surviving, but apart from Dawn, the Old Turtles, Breeze, and Wild Boars are all here. Of the five Special Operations Squads, only the Water Snakes aren’t accounted for. Although we haven’t run into them, it’s very likely that they’re also here. Why would the Army Commander deploy all the Special Operations Squads here?”

Over the past two months, Dawn had been hunting here and there, so they naturally had a few run-ins with the other Squads that were carrying out missions in this region. As Feng Ying had stated, of the five Special Operations Squads of Blue Sky Pass, except for the Water Snakes, they had met all the others.

This was obviously strange.

It wasn’t just Dawn who had noticed this, but the other Squads also had similar doubts.

Yang Kai slightly furrowed his brow. He pondered on it for a moment before replying, “Since the Army Commander made such arrangements, there must be a deeper meaning behind it. Perhaps he could not say why, but it’s also possible that we’re overthinking things. It’s entirely possible that because we’ve never explored this place before, we need Special Operations Squads to act as scouts. Ordinary Squads may not be able to protect themselves here.”

“Even so, it’s still quite strange,” Feng Ying slowly shook her head.

Yang Kai dismissed her worries with a smile, “In any case, the most important thing we have to do is keep carrying out our mission. As for the rest, we’ll cross that bridge when we reach it.”

While they were speaking, a faint aura fluctuation suddenly appeared from the depths of the void. These fluctuations were extremely strange in that they were quite noticeable even though they were so faint.

Yang Kai and Feng Ying immediately looked in the direction of their source.

But these fluctuations disappeared as quickly as they had appeared, vanishing without a trace before the two of them could perceive anything.

Yang Kai and Feng Ying looked at each other and could clearly see the surprise in each other’s eyes. But even after waiting for a long time, nothing eventful happened.

Just as the two settled down, the strange aura fluctuations appeared once more, this time even more obvious than before.

Yang Kai’s expression changed, “Someone is breaking through?”

Feng Ying solemnly nodded her agreement, “It seems so.”

Yang Kai immediately started cursing, “Who is so eager to die? They actually dared to break through here? Don’t they know it’s better to return to the forward base and break through there?”

He might have said so, but he was also aware that if a cultivator really reached the point of breaking through, they might not have the time to find a suitable place to do so. For years, there had been many who had broken through directly on the battlefield. This was not intentional, but rather that it was easier to break through one’s shackles and reach an epiphany when wandering the boundaries between life and death in battle with the Black Ink Clan.

Although one could use the Universe Transference Law to instantly return to the forward base, if they did so, it was highly likely that they would disrupt or even interrupt their moment of enlightenment, which would be detrimental to their breakthrough.

However, advancing in this region was simply too reckless. This place was too deep behind enemy lines and the Black Ink Clan was frequently active in this region. If they were disturbed while they were advancing, the consequences would be deadly.

At the very least, if it was Yang Kai, he would definitely not have chosen to advance here and would have returned to the forward base.

Be that as it may, there were always exceptions to everything. Although he was annoyed, Yang Kai had no choice but to turn Dawning Light around and rush towards the source of the aura.

If they could sense the aura, so could the Black Ink Clan, who were quite active in this region. In other words, this aura was as bright as the lighthouse in the dark night. The Black Ink Clan would definitely not miss this great opportunity which dropped onto their doorstep.

Along the way, the aura fluctuations became more frequent and more obvious; obviously, it had reached a point where it could no longer be suppressed.

Dawn Squad members could also sense the situation more clearly.

On the deck, Yang Kai’s face sank.

Shen Ao was bewildered as he voiced his thoughts, “Judging by the intensity, it doesn’t seem like someone is breaking through to the Seventh Order, but rather…”

He didn’t dare to say the rest, mainly because it was too outrageous. Everyone knew that advancing to the Seventh Order would not produce such strong energy fluctuations, which meant this disturbance had to be caused by someone advancing from the Seventh Order to the Eighth Order!

“Who is it?” Yang Kai looked at Feng Ying.

In Dawn, Feng Ying had the highest cultivation and most experience. Furthermore, Yang Kai had only been in Blue Sky Pass for a little over 100 years while the rest of the Seventh-Order Masters were rescued from the Black Ink Clan’s territory by Yang Kai. Only Feng Ying had constantly lived in Blue Sky Pass and thus had a deep understanding of its residents.

Although there were many Seventh-Order Open Heaven Realm Masters, and there were many who were qualified to advance to the Eighth-Order, there were only a few who were truly hovering at the threshold, so Feng Ying should be acquainted with them; after all, she too was counted among their ranks. She should be interacting with these others often.

“This seems to be Martial Uncle Xiang Shan’s aura!” Feng Ying slightly furrowed her brow.

“Xiang Shan?” Yang Kai seemed to have heard his name, “The one who fell from the Eighth Order to the Seventh Order because he sacrificed a large part of his Small Universe?”

Feng Ying nodded, “That’s him.”

“How could it be him!?” Yang Kai was confused.

Yang Kai had heard of him from Feng Ying’s mouth during a casual conversation, but that was it.

Before Yang Kai’s arrival at Blue Sky Pass, the corruption of Black Ink Strength was extremely harmful to the Human Race, and this kind of harm was not limited to Sixth-Order and Seventh-Order Open Heaven Realm Masters. Even Eighth-Order Open Heaven Realm Masters could be affected, though this happening was quite rare.

Be that as it may, accidents were bound to happen during the lengthy war against the Black Ink Clan on the Black Ink Battlefield. Thus, even Eighth-Order Open Heaven Realm Masters could be corrupted by Black Ink Strength.

Xiang Shan was one of the few unfortunate ones. He was originally an Eighth-Order Open Heaven Realm Master, but when he was fighting against a Territory Lord, he was ambushed by another nearby Territory Lord and suffered heavy injuries. Although he had relied on his great strength to survive and escape, his Small Universe had been invaded by Black Ink Strength already.

In that intense battle, he had to cut off parts of his Small Universe five times, causing his Order to drop from the Eighth Order to the Seventh Order.

In fact, cutting off a part of one’s Small Universe didn’t necessarily mean that one’s Order would fall. Yang Kai had cut off a portion of his Small Universe because of the World Spring, and doing so had caused his strength to fall, but his Order did not regress.

Most people would find themselves in similar situations when only one or two pieces of their Small Universe were cut off, but if they continued to do so, a drop in Order was inevitable.

Regression in Order was very troublesome as even after repairing one’s Small Universe and rebuilding their foundation using a Profound Yin Spirit Fruit, the drop in Order could not be reversed. One would need to cultivate again and find a chance to break through.

Although there was no exact data on this process, according to the soldiers’ performance in the past, it was far more difficult for a cultivator to break through to the next Order after they had been forced to cut off pieces of their Small Universe. Only two or three out of ten people could successfully advance once again. If not for this, there wouldn’t have been so many Fifth-Order Open Heaven Realm Masters in the Pass, even with a much more abundant supply of Profound Yin Spirit Fruits now than in the past. If those fruits could restore their Order, all of them would have returned to the Sixth-Order Open Heaven Realm.

Xiang Shan’s fall in the Order was nearly 3,000 years ago. Although he had used a Profound Yin Spirit Fruit to repair his damaged Small Universe afterwards, he was still stuck in the Seventh Order.

Three millennia ago, Feng Ying had just arrived on the Black Ink Battlefield. Although she had some understanding of Xiang Shan’s situation, she wasn’t very clear about it, and those in the Pass refrained from speaking about it. So, no one knew exactly what happened back then.

Nevertheless, Xiang Shan was an extremely special existence in Blue Sky Pass because he did not belong to any Squad. Even when he fought against the Black Ink Clan Army, he fought alone.

Although he was currently only in the Seventh-Order, he had the foundation of an Eighth-Order Master, so he was often able to display strength far beyond the Seventh-Order. To a certain extent, he was almost on par with Yang Kai.

“Are you sure it’s him?” Yang Kai asked.

Feng Ying nodded in confirmation, “Martial Uncle Xiang Shan is also from my Blue Sky Paradise. When I first came to the Black Ink Battlefield, I received some guidance from Martial Uncle. Although I have rarely interacted with him over these past few years, I will never forget his aura.”

It wasn’t that Feng Ying didn’t want to interact with him, but rather that Xiang Shan preferred to keep to himself like a lone wolf. He had a strange temperament and always fought alone before going into a secluded retreat. So, it was difficult to meet him, even for Feng Ying.

“In fact, when I came to Blue Sky Pass, the Western Army Commander was Martial Uncle Xiang Shan. After his cultivation fell, Martial Uncle Zhong Liang took over the position,” Feng Ying added.

At this moment, the matter of the Western Army Commander was not on Yang Kai’s mind. He had thought that some Sixth-Order Open Heaven Realm Master was advancing to the Seventh-Order, but by the looks of it, it was a Seventh-Order Open Heaven Realm Master advancing to the Eighth-Order.

[What should we do now?]

No matter what reason Xiang Shan had for staying in this region to advance, this fierce aura could not be concealed and would definitely attract the attention of countless Black Ink Clansmen.

Just like how the Territory Lords were the main force of the Black Ink Clan, the Eighth-Order Open Heaven Realm Masters were the backbone of the Human Race. Now that the balance between the number of Eighth-Order Masters and Territory Lords in the Blue Sky Theatre had already been destroyed, how could the Black Ink Clan just watch another Eighth-Order Human appear?

Even if Yang Kai thought with his feet, he knew that a large number of Black Ink Clansmen would soon be rushing over to interfere. Perhaps even some Territory Lords would make an appearance.

Pondering for a moment, Yang Kai turned around and ordered, “Senior Brother Qi, I’ll have to trouble you to return to the forward base and report this matter to the Army Commanders. Ask them to quickly send reinforcements.”

Qi Tai Chu also understood the gravity of the situation and immediately nodded in response, “Yes!”

In a flash, he appeared outside Dawning Light as he used the Universe Transference Law to return to the forward base.

Yang Kai then turned to the other members and suggested, “A fierce battle is upon us, so all of you should quickly try to recover your strength. You may not have a chance to rest later.”

Everyone readily agreed.

Dawning Light continued to fly forward, but Yang Kai still felt uneasy.

Although he had asked Qi Tai Chu to return to the forward base to report and ask for reinforcements, only Qi Tai Chu could use Dawning Light’s Universe Array to immediately return. Other soldiers could not do the same; thus, even if an Eighth-Order Master was deployed, it would take at least 10 days for them to arrive.