Martial Peak
chapter-5195

When Zhe Chong was only a few days away from Wind and Cloud Pass, he was ambushed by a Human Race Army. The 300,000 troops of the Black Ink Army had been completely annihilated, and all other Territory Lords other than him had lost their lives.

However, fleeing for the past year had taken a huge toll on him. He felt as though there was an overwhelming sense of crisis pressing down on him, giving him the illusion that he was constantly being chased. Be that as it may, there were no signs of pursuers no matter how many times he checked his surroundings.

Seeing the majestic Great Pass in front of him once more, Zhe Chong felt as though he had never found a more welcoming sight in his entire life. His tense nerves finally relaxed as soon as he stepped into Great Evolution Pass.

More than 30,000 years had passed since the Black Ink Clan conquered Great Evolution Pass. The troops that generally departed from here to provide reinforcements to the two adjacent Theatres had always been defeated after arriving at Wind and Cloud Pass or Azure Void Pass. There was never once when they were ambushed and completely annihilated by the Humans along the way.

During his escape, Zhe Chong had been wondering about something. He simply could not understand how the Humans at Wind and Cloud Pass could gather the manpower to prepare an ambush in that place.

Logically speaking, the Humans at Wind and Cloud Pass should have been overwhelmed by the siege of the Black Ink Clan Army by now.

After much thought, a possibility occurred to him, one that left him feeling very uneasy.

Great Evolution Pass was originally one of the Great Passes under the Human Race’s control. It had taken countless generations of blood, sweat, and tears from the elites of Great Evolution Paradise to build up the Great Pass little by little. More than 30,000 years ago, this place was not that different from the other Great Passes. Tens of thousands of Human troops had protected this place under the leadership of their Old Ancestor and prevented the Black Ink Clan from taking one step across the boundary.

However, the entire Great Evolution Pass was now shrouded in a layer of dense Black Ink Strength. There was also an enormous Black Ink Nest standing tall in the middle of Great Evolution Pass’ Central Square.

The Black Ink Nest resembled a pitch-black flower bud that was on the verge of blooming. Whenever it contracted and expanded slightly, large amounts of thick Black Ink Strength leaked out from within.

This particular Black Ink Nest was thousands of metres tall, and its base practically occupied the entire Central Square. Looking at it from a distance, it resembled a towering black mountain. It was clearly a Mid-Grade Black Ink Nest.

Black Ink Nests were the foundation of the Black Ink Clan. The presence of a Mid-Grade Black Ink Nest here indicated that this was now the home territory of a Territory Lord. In other words, there was a Territory Lord guarding this place at all times.

This situation was nothing out of the ordinary. Great Evolution Pass was the first and only Great Pass to be conquered by the Black Ink Clan in history, so it was impossible for the Black Ink Clan to neglect it. Even if only to boost morale, a Territory Lord was always standing guard here.

Furthermore, the Territory Lord stationed here was the strongest Territory Lord in the entire Theatre, Hong Di!

It was rumoured that this Territory Lord was only one step away from becoming a Royal Lord. Unfortunately, the rumour had been circulating for tens of thousands of years yet there were no signs of Hong Di advancing so far.

Although there were no signs of his breaking through, it was true that Hong Di Territory Lord was very diligent in his cultivation. Even though he was stationed at Great Evolution Pass, he basically stayed within the Black Ink Nest and borrowed its power to cultivate. All the Black Ink Clansmen under his command believed that he was trying to overcome the last step to become a Royal Lord.

Of course, Hong Di was not the only Territory Lord stationed at Great Evolution Pass after the Black Ink Clan first conquered it. There were also several others besides him. That was because they had been wary of the Human Race trying to retake Great Evolution Pass.

However, more than 30,000 years had passed since then. The Human Race seemed to have little regard for Great Evolution Pass and never showed signs of trying to retake it; therefore, the Black Ink Clan no longer took this matter too seriously. Except for the most powerful Hong Di, who was ordered to remain here, all the other Territory Lords returned to their respective territories.

Leaving the strongest Territory Lord at Great Evolution Pass was part of the precautions taken by the Black Ink Clan. They knew that the Humans would eventually attempt to retake the Great Pass, but they did not know when the counterattack would come.

In this way, Great Evolution Pass became Hong Di’s personal territory. Nevertheless, this place remained very lively since the reinforcement Armies for the Black Ink Clan in the Azure Void Theatre and the Great Evolution Theatre generally gathered and departed from this place.

Roughly three years ago, an Army of 300,000 troops had set off in the direction of Wind and Cloud Pass; hence, Hong Di was very surprised when Zhe Chong suddenly appeared at Great Evolution Pass.

He was not surprised by the fact that Zhe Chong had returned so quickly though, but by the fact that Zhe Chong had returned at all. As the person in charge of Great Evolution Pass, he could easily obtain various pieces of information with the help of Great Evolution Pass.

Likewise, Zhe Chong was also rather taken aback. That was because he basically never saw Hong Di even though he had been to Great Evolution Pass on many occasions. Hong Di had always been in a state of secluded cultivation after all. Many Territory Lords had maliciously speculated about him, wondering whether he had died inside his Black Ink Nest since they had not seen him in so many years.

The two Territory Lords met inside a Grand Hall. Compared to the travel-weary Zhe Chong, Hong Di was undoubtedly full of vigour.

There were no rules for courtesy like those among the Human Race, so after they each took a seat, Hong Di glanced at Zhe Chong and asked probingly, “Did you encounter anything worthy of attention during your deployment?”

He did not ask where the Army of 300,000 troops had gone or why Zhe Chong was the only one out of a dozen Territory Lords to appear here. Just by looking at Zhe Chong’s miserable appearance, Hong Di had a guess as to what happened. His question was simply to confirm his speculations.

Zhe Chong quickly nodded, “Among a field of universe fragments located only a few days away from Wind and Cloud Pass, we were ambushed by the Humans. They were led by a Ninth-Order Old Ancestor and had some 50 to 60 Eighth-Order Masters with them! Our Army was no match for them, and almost everyone was slaughtered on the spot. I was the only one to escape alive!”

Hong Di nodded lightly at those words and revealed an expression that seemed to indicate he had expected as much. The Black Ink Clan Army of 300,000 troops had almost zero chance of survival against such a line-up from the Human Race. Zhe Chong was very lucky to escape and return alive.

Zhe Chong was stunned, “You knew?”

Hong Di waved his hand in denial, “I didn’t know anything, but I did receive news from the Wind and Cloud Theatre approximately one year ago. It was said that an additional Old Ancestor had appeared at Wind and Cloud Pass, along with hundreds of Eighth-Order Open Heaven Realm Masters. In the end, even the Royal Lord was severely injured and forced to escape back to the Royal City. The Territory Lords suffered massive casualties, and the Army of several million under their command was all but wiped out. It will be difficult for them to recover without at least a thousand years of recuperation.”

Zhe Chong was shocked to hear the news. He had thought that he was very unlucky, but compared to the fate of his clansmen at Wind and Cloud Theatre, he could be considered quite fortunate.

The Black Ink Clan had originally been suppressing the Human Race in the Wind and Cloud Theatre, but an additional Old Ancestor and hundreds of Eighth-Order Open Heaven Realm Masters had suddenly appeared on the battlefield. How could the Black Ink Clan of the Wind and Cloud Theatre possibly withstand such a force?

[Have the Humans gone insane!? Why did they gather so many Eighth-Order Open Heaven Realm Masters in one place? Did they abandon the other Great Passes!?]

“Was the Old Ancestor you encountered a woman from the Human Race?” Hong Di asked.

Zhe Chong nodded solemnly, “Indeed!”

Although it was only a brief glimpse at the time, Zhe Chong had definitely seen the appearance of the Human Old Ancestor.

Hong Di said, “In that case, it has been confirmed. The Old Ancestor you encountered is most likely the one who suddenly appeared at Wind and Cloud Pass. The Royal Lords have conferred with each other and confirmed that this woman was originally the Ninth-Order Open Heaven Realm Master protecting Yin-Yang Pass.”

Zhe Chong raged, “If she is the Old Ancestor of Yin-Yang Pass, then why did she suddenly appear at Wind and Cloud Pass!? Are they planning to ignore and disregard the Royal Lord at Yin-Yang Pass!?”

He was lucky to have escaped the notice of that Ninth-Order Master, which allowed him to survive by a narrow margin, but what if he had not been so lucky? He would have suffered the same fate as the other dozen Territory Lords and become nothing more than severed limbs and hashed meat floating about in the void by now.

Zhe Chong had no place to vent all the bitterness and panic he felt while fleeing for his life; furthermore, thinking about how a Territory Lord like him had never been in such a wretched position before and learning that the Ninth-Order Open Heaven Realm Master was somebody from the distant Yin-Yang Pass, he forgot to be mindful of his speech in his annoyance.

“Watch your tongue!” Hong Di glared at Zhe Chong. The prestige of a Black Ink Clan Royal Lord was not something a mere Territory Lord could disparage.

Zhe Chong immediately shrunk his neck. In the end, he heaved a heavy sigh.

Taking pity on Zhe Chong, Hong Di explained the situation, “To tell you the truth, there’s a reason why that Ninth-Order woman from Yin-Yang Pass appeared at Wind and Cloud Pass. It’s because a new Ninth-Order Human has appeared at Yin-Yang Pass. That’s why she could leave with peace of mind.”

Zhe Chong was stunned, “The Human’s gained an additional Ninth-Order Open Heaven Realm Master?”

The Ninth-Order Masters and the Royal Lords were the strongest combatants among the Human Race and the Black Ink Clan. The addition or loss of even one of them was something that could shake the entire Black Ink Battlefield. That was why Zhe Chong lost his composure when he heard that there was an additional Ninth-Order Open Heaven Realm Master at Yin-Yang Pass.

Hong Di nodded, “When news that the Ninth-Order Old Ancestor from Yin-Yang Pass appeared at Wind and Cloud Pass, the Royal Lord in the Yin-Yang Theatre probed the situation at Yin-Yang Pass and confirmed that there was a Ninth-Order Master there. It seems that one of the Army Commanders at Yin-Yang Pass broke through.”

Zhe Chong immediately gritted his teeth in fury, “The Human Race sure is cunning!”

When a Human advanced from the Eighth-Order to the Ninth-Order, the disturbance caused was extremely large. If they had chosen to advance in the Black Ink Battlefield, then the Black Ink Clan would have known about it a long time ago. Seeing as they suddenly gained a new Ninth-Order Old Ancestor out of nowhere, it could only be assumed that the newly-advanced Master had not chosen to advance on the Black Ink Battlefield.

The Humans had been planning this from the beginning! They secretly nurtured a new Ninth-Order Old Ancestor, which led to the complete defeat of the Black Ink Clan at Wind and Cloud Pass. Zhe Chong had simply gotten involved by extension.

“That can’t be right!” Hong Di suddenly seemed to realise something, and his expression changed slightly, “Zhe Chong, did you say that you were ambushed by the Human Race Army when you were a few days away from Wind and Cloud Pass?”

Zhe Chong nodded, “En.”

“In other words, you encountered each other on the road.”

“Naturally,” he secretly thought to himself, [Why is Hong Di asking such nonsensical questions?]

Hong Di’s expression changed drastically. He had not been surprised by what happened to Zhe Chong because he had already heard about the situation beforehand. The Black Ink Clan Army had suffered a crushing defeat at Wind and Cloud Pass, so he naturally assumed that the reinforcement Army led by Territory Lords like Zhe Chong had also been defeated on that battlefield.

Therefore, he had been slightly surprised to see that Zhe Chong had returned alive. Many Territory Lords had perished in that battle, so Zhe Chong was very lucky to have survived.

Be that as it may, it turned out that the reinforcement Army had not participated in the battle at Wind and Cloud Pass.

It was impossible for the Humans to know about the reinforcement Army dispatched from Great Evolution Pass and set up an ambush in the middle of their route. In other words, it was because Zhe Chong and the others were unlucky that they were ambushed in the first place. They had encountered the Human Race Army that had departed from Wind and Cloud Pass.

But why would an Old Ancestor lead a Human Army out of Wind and Cloud Pass?

“This is bad!” Hong Di abruptly jumped to his feet, “They are coming to attack Great Evolution Pass!”

Zhe Chong frowned, “Do you have evidence?”

The truth was that he had considered this possibility while on the run for his life, but there was no evidence to back up this speculation. Although he had encountered the Human Race Army outside of Wind and Cloud Pass, he could not say that they were planning to attack and retake Great Evolution Pass. That was a huge claim to make, so Zhe Chong had not dared to voice his opinion even though this idea had crossed his mind.