Martial Peak
chapter-5180

Of course, that was just his own speculation, and there was no way to confirm it.

The Humans wanted to take back the Great Evolution Pass. That was big news, and just thinking about it made Yang Kai feel excited.

As far as the main crusade went, the first step was to recover Great Evolution Pass. That was because the Great Pass had fallen into the hands of the Black Ink Clan, and if not recovered, once the Humans began their crusade, the Black Ink Clan might harass them from the rear. Therefore, the Humans had to tie up all loose ends that might affect their crusade before it could begin.

Yang Kai suddenly thought of a problem, “Sirs, according to your story on how Great Evolution Pass fell into the hands of the Black Ink Clan, there must still be a Royal Lord assuming command over there. If we want to defeat a Royal Lord, we must have an Old Ancestor with us. Could it be that the Old Ancestor from our side will be personally leading the Army to Great Evolution Pass?”

Although it had been quite a while since Blue Sky Theatre had seen open hostilities, the Old Ancestor still couldn’t leave the Great Pass at will. Once the Black Ink Clan discovered that the Old Ancestor had left, they might try something. By then, they wouldn’t be anyone restraining the Black Ink Clan’s Royal Lord, and although Blue Sky Pass could not be easily overtaken, such a battle would definitely cost them the forward base. Once that was gone, all their hard work for hundreds of years would be wiped away.

Blue Sky Pass wouldn’t do such a stupid thing.

Shen Tu Mo replied, “There will be an Old Ancestor leading the Army in this battle to recover our territory, but not the one from our Pass.”

Yang Kai frowned, “Who would it be?”

It wasn’t an easy decision to let the Old Ancestor leave a Theatre, regardless of which Great Pass they were overseeing.

“You also know this Old Ancestor.”

“Someone I know?” Yang Kai was stunned. When he thought about it, he knew only three Old Ancestors. One was Blue Sky Pass’ Old Ancestor, one was Yin-Yang Pass’ Old Ancestor, and the other was Myriad Demons Pass’ Old Ancestor. He hadn’t met the other Old Ancestors yet.

But Shen Tu Mo just said that the battle to recover their territory had nothing to do with the Old Ancestor of Blue Sky Pass, so there were only the Old Ancestors of Yin-Yang Pass and Myriad Demons Pass.

“The one leading this campaign will be the Old Ancestor of Yin-Yang Pass.”

The image of the gluttonous little girl immediately appeared in Yang Kai’s mind, and his brow twitched slightly. He thought it might be the one from Myriad Demons Pass, but did not expect it to be the one from Yin-Yang Pass.

That person was not very reliable! Was it really feasible for her to lead the Army to recover Great Evolution Pass?

However, Yang Kai was more concerned about another thing, “If she leaves, who will assume command of Yin-Yang Pass?”

Just as Blue Sky Pass’ Old Ancestor couldn’t easily leave Blue Sky Pass, Yin-Yang Pass had the same situation. The presence of each Old Ancestor was a great deterrent to the Black Ink Clan.

Hearing his question, Ding Yao hesitated for a moment and said, “200 years ago, Yin-Yang Pass’ Southern Army Commander, Wu Qing exhibited signs of a breakthrough, so he returned to the 3,000 Worlds via the No-Return Pass. He then succeeded in breaking through to the Ninth-Order Open Heaven Realm at Red Clouds Cave Heaven!”

Not knowing whether he had felt it wrongly, Yang Kai felt that Ding Yao was full of envy when he said that; however, Yang Kai was still surprised by the news, “Senior Wu has advanced to the Ninth Order?”

Ding Yao and Shen Tu Mo nodded together, and Shen Tu Mo urged, “This is a top-secret matter. Even in Yin-Yang Pass, only the Eighth-Order Open Heaven Realm Masters know about it, so don’t make a big fuss about it.”

Yang Kai nodded instinctively, but his mind was still in a state of shock.

Wu Qing had broken through to the Ninth-Order Open Heaven Realm!

This was great news to the Humans because they now had another Old Ancestor. Now, Yin-Yang Pass had two Old Ancestors.

But then again, before he went to Yin-Yang Pass last time, he had heard about Wu Qing from the others. Wu Qing carried a Profound Fish, one of the Four Universe Pillars, so he did not fear the Black Ink Strength’s corruption. As he was already very strong, he would frequently dive into the Black Ink Clan’s territory alone and stir up trouble. The Black Ink Clan in Yin-Yang Theatre resented him very much, but they couldn’t do anything about it.

Wu Qing had been an Eighth-Order Master for many years and had been on the verge of a breakthrough for some time now; therefore, he was known as the one who was most likely to break through to the Ninth-Order Open Heaven Realm in recent years. That wasn’t a secret among the Great Passes, but no one knew when or even if he could advance successfully.

No one knew if he would suddenly have a bought of enlightenment and break through, or perhaps he would stay in the Eighth-Order Open Heaven Realm for another 10,000 years without any change. It was not just a matter of accumulation, but also about luck and opportunity.

It was not until more than 200 years ago that Wu Qing had an epiphany and immediately returned to Red Clouds Cave Heaven via the No-Return Pass.

Ordinary cultivators who came to the Black Ink Battlefield could never return to the 3,000 Worlds, but it was different with Wu Qing’s situation because he had the Profound Fish, so it was impossible for him to be corrupted by Black Ink Strength. Moreover, he was in a special state whereby he was about to make a breakthrough, so his return was permitted as it had strategic importance.

Another reason was that the process of advancing into the Ninth-Order Open Heaven Realm would cause a huge commotion, so if Wu Qing remained in Yin-Yang Pass during his advancement, the Royal Lord would definitely become aware of it. Once the Black Ink Clan noticed, they would become warier.

Therefore, the best choice was for Wu Qing to return to the 3,000 Worlds and quietly break through at Red Clouds Cave Heaven first.

It could be said that every Eighth-Order Open Heaven Realm Master that was about to break through to Ninth-Order Open Heaven Realm would be returned to the 3,000 Worlds to their Master Sect before they break through.

After Wu Qing had advanced to the Ninth-Order Open Heaven Realm, he stayed in Red Clouds Cave Heaven for more than 200 years to stabilise his Realm before secretly returning to Yin-Yang Pass.

Only after his return did the Humans prepare to implement the plan to recover Great Evolution Pass.

With Wu Qing, the newly advanced Ninth-Order Old Ancestor, assuming command of Yin-Yang Pass, the situation at Yin-Yang Theatre would not change much, and the veteran Old Ancestor of Yin-Yang Pass would be free to lead the Army to take back Great Evolution Pass.

Yang Kai had met with Wu Qing during his previous trip to Yin-Yang Pass, but they hadn’t said much to each other, so he wasn’t very familiar with him. Regardless, Yang Kai was still happy that Wu Qing was able to advance into the Ninth-Order Open Heaven Realm.

However, he soon thought of another thing, “Since Senior Wu has advanced into the Ninth-Order Open Heaven Realm without the knowledge of the Royal Lord in the Yin-Yang Theatre, why doesn’t he team up with the Old Ancestor at Yin-Yang Pass to deal with the Royal Lord there?”

The Old Ancestor of Great Evolution Paradise was sneak attacked by a newly advanced Royal Lord more than 30,000 years ago under similar circumstances, resulting in his demise.

The Humans could simply return the favour.

While shaking his head, Ding Yao explained, “That’s too big of a risk, and there are too many uncontrollable factors. A Royal Lord is not like a Territory Lord or a Feudal Lord. When it comes to life-or-death situations, even if there is no chance of survival, a Royal Lord has a high chance of dragging someone down with them. It’s not easy for us Humans to gain an Old Ancestor, so we cannot afford to take that risk.”

Back then, the Old Ancestor of Great Evolution Pass was still able to kill a Royal Lord despite being sneak attacked and outnumbered. A Royal Lord’s strength was basically on par with that of a Ninth-Order Open Heaven Realm Master, so there was also a chance that they could do the same.

As long as there was such a chance, the Humans would not risk it.

Smiling, Shen Tu Mo elaborated, “Because an Old Ancestor and a Royal Lord aren’t that easy to kill, each Great Pass can barely maintain a balance. If the Black Ink Clan acted according to what you just proposed, who knows how many Great Passes we would have lost.”

“What do you mean by that?” Yang Kai frowned in confusion.

Shen Tu Mo continued to explain, “There are a number of Theatres with more than one Royal Lord. For example, the Great Battle Theatre. There are two Royal Lords there while we only have one Old Ancestor standing guard.”

Hearing that, Yang Kai was very surprised, “There are two Royal Lords in the Great Battle Theatre?”

“What’s so surprising about that?” Ding Yao glanced at him, “Some Human Great Passes have two Old Ancestors, but the total number of Royal Lords is most likely still higher.”

Yang Kai looked bewildered, “I always thought that every Great Pass only had one Old Ancestor and the corresponding Theatre only had one Royal Lord.”

Frowning, Shen Tu Mo asked, “Who told you that?”

While shaking his head, Yang Kai replied, “No one.” It was all his own assumption, but now it seemed that he was being naive.

Thinking about it, no one had ever told him explicitly that each Great Pass had only one Old Ancestor that corresponded to one Royal Lord.

Though there weren’t many Old Ancestors, how could they possibly be distributed perfectly evenly so that all Great Passes only had one? There had to be a few extras somewhere.

It was the same for the Royal Lord.

It just so happened that the three Great Passes he visited only had one Old Ancestor and one Royal Lord.

“On the Black Ink Clan’s side, both their Feudal Lords and Territory Lords outnumber our Seventh-Order and Eighth-Order Masters, so it’s only normal for their Royal Lords to outnumber our Ninth-Masters too. However, the actual number is irrelevant to the overall situation. Although there are fewer Ninth-Orders Open Heaven Realm Masters in some Theatres, they are still able to maintain a balance with the Royal Lords and keep each other in check.”

Yang Kai nodded his head, indicating that he understood.

Using Great Battle Pass as an example, although there was only one Ninth-Order Old Ancestor facing two Royal Lords, along with the risks of attacking the Great Pass, as long as the Old Ancestor acted prudently, there wouldn’t be any danger.

“We’ve strayed a bit too far off-topic,” Shen Tu Mo waved his hand and said, “Let’s put all these to the side. What we have to do now is to recover Great Evolution Pass. Originally, you weren’t supposed to be involved in this matter because, as Grandmaster Ma Fan said, you are the key to the Evil Purging Divine Spear. The future of the Human Race is at stake, and we wouldn’t allow you to head to such a dangerous battlefield so easily. If you were to have any accidents, the whole crusade would be in jeopardy.”

Smiling playfully, Yang Kai added, “Though I don’t know the reason, Dawn will be participating in this battle to recover the Great Pass, right?”

[I’m sure no Human soldier would want to miss such an opportunity.]

Shen Tu Mo nodded, “Indeed! The Old Ancestor from Yin-Yang Pass specifically requested you to join the Army, saying that your Small Universe can help her restore her strength and recover from her injuries. We naturally need to cooperate when such a request is made.”

Yang Kai suddenly understood the situation.

The last time he was in Yin-Yang Pass, he had used his Small Universe to help the Old Ancestor heal from her wounds. It seemed like after tasting the benefits he could offer, she had developed a liking for them.

This was only reasonable as she would turn into a child if she were seriously injured, and normal healing methods had little effect on her. She could only restore her injuries in a Bustling World.

Yang Kai’s Small Universe just happened to be a place where countless ordinary beings flourished and was perfectly suitable for her healing process. Also, the flow of time inside his Small Universe was different from the outside world, so it could be said that if they had Yang Kai with them, the chances of success in this campaign to recover their territory would increase greatly.

The recovery of Great Evolution Pass was related to their future crusade, and the Old Ancestor from Yin-Yang Pass had personally requested Yang Kai to follow them; therefore, considering the overall situation, Blue Sky Pass couldn’t refuse.

This was the reason Ding Yao and Shen Tu Mo told Yang Kai so much; otherwise, how could a Seventh-Order Junior be qualified to know so many operational details? Since it was an order from the higher-ups, they were just carrying them out.