Martial Peak
chapter-5217

During their earlier exchange, Yang Kai detected something strange.

This Eighth-Order Black Ink Disciple’s attack appeared terrifying, but in reality, it seemed to lack true substance.

He was heavily injured as well. Even on the surface, he had a large wound along his abdomen, and even though he used his strength to seal it up, blood continued to trickle out. Furthermore, one of his eyes had been destroyed. The remaining, functional eye was glaring darkly at Yang Kai the same way a venomous snake stared at its prey.

It was understandable to find him in this state. Someone who needed to fake his death in order to survive the battlefield had to have been incapacitated at some point. The lingering injuries on him proved as much.

Plus, he was only an Eighth-Order Black Ink Disciple and not a true Eighth-Order Open Heaven Realm Master, which meant that he was a lot less powerful than a real Eighth-Order Open Heaven Realm Master. Even if he was at the peak of his current strength, he might not even be stronger than any of the Territory Lords.

If Yang Kai was alone, he might not have been willing to take this risk. With Instantaneous Movement at his disposal, this heavily-wounded Eighth-Order Black Ink Disciple would most likely fail to do anything to him. Thus, even if Yang Kai could not win this fight, he could still escape just fine.

However, he was not alone right now.

He still had the unconscious female Seventh-Order Master that he brought back from the battlefield.

Yang Kai was a Seventh-Order Master, and although his Small Universe could keep cultivators that were not High-Rank Open Heaven Realm Masters, it could not do so with a Seventh-Order Master.

There was very little chance Yang Kai could escape from this Eighth-Order Black Ink Disciple’s attacks if he brought the woman with him, so his only option was to fight.

Back then, Yang Kai and Bai Yi joined forces and with great difficulty, they managed to kill a heavily injured Territory Lord, Zhu Feng.

It had been several hundred years since then, and Yang Kai was now up against a heavily injured Eighth-Order Black Ink Disciple. He did not think it was an impossible fight for him as he was now a lot more powerful than before.

“Has the younger generation grown so arrogant?” The Eighth-Order Black Ink Disciple snorted coldly. Yang Kai’s response clearly infuriated him.

“Even though you might not have done it willingly, since you’ve become one with the Black Ink Clan, you’re my enemy now. You have no right to consider yourself my Senior,” Yang Kai answered evenly.

As Yang Kai spoke, his hand shot out and a gentle force wrapped up the unconscious female Seventh-Order Master’s body that was situated nearby. In the next moment, Space Principles fluctuated and the woman’s body shimmered before disappearing and reappearing hundreds of thousands of kilometres away and continued drifting further off into the void.

A fierce battle was about to break out, and Yang Kai had no way of keeping the woman safe in the thick of the fight, so his only choice was to send her away.

The Eighth-Order Black Ink Disciple knew very well what Yang Kai was attempting to do, but he did not try to stop it. To him, he could easily go after the unconscious Seventh-Order woman once he dealt with Yang Kai. He would have all the time in the world to decide her fate then.

Still, he was deeply displeased by Yang Kai’s attitude. After glancing at the female Seventh-Order Master that Yang Kai sent away, he withdrew his gaze and extended his arm. A clear sword cry filled the battlefield, and immediately after, a ray of light shot out and was soon drawn to his hand.

Yang Kai’s expression turned grim as he subconsciously tightened his grip around his Azure Dragon Spear.

He had seen it very clearly. A longsword had flown out of the battlefield, one that most likely belonged to this Eighth-Order Black Ink Disciple.

From the looks of it now, this Eighth-Order Black Ink Disciple cultivated the Sword Dao. Yang Kai gritted his teeth at this realization, for those who cultivated Sword Dao were extremely well-versed in killing. In other words, Sword Dao cultivators all had a lot of experience in battle and were incredibly tough opponents.

Feng Ying was proof of this as she also cultivated the Sword Dao.

A longsword that was prized by an Eighth-Order Open Heaven Realm Master would not be an ordinary artifact. The long years of nurture were enough to bind the life of an Eighth-Order Master with his artifact.

The only thing that Yang Kai could rejoice at was the dimmed glow of the longsword artifact the Eighth-Order Black Ink Disciple summoned. Its spirituality was noticeably diminished and there were numerous dents and cracks along its length. It could be seen that during the clash with the North-South Army’s Eighth-Order Open Heaven Masters, this Black Ink Disciple was so badly defeated that he not only had to fake his death, but even his artifact was damaged as well.

Once the Eighth-Order Black Ink Disciple retrieved his longsword, he created a Sword Array with a simple flick. However, bolstered by his powerful cultivation, a dangerous aura emanated from the Sword Array as it formed. This proved that he was indeed highly proficient in the Sword Dao.

The Eighth-Order Black Ink Disciple grasped his sword in one hand and held it out in front of him as he said, “The Royal Lord values talent, so this Old Master will ask you this, are you interested in serving the Royal Lord? If you agree to do so, I can spare your life today. Truth be told, this Old Master’s condition is less than satisfactory. I do not wish to fight against anyone else.”

Yang Kai’s eyes flashed with a hint of grievous melancholy, “You were born a Human, but you now serve the Black Ink Clan. Old Sir, have you forgotten your comrades-in-arms who fought alongside you 30,000 years ago and defended you with their lives? Have you forgotten the countless soldiers who died in battle at Great Evolution Pass?”

A hint of remembrance flickered in the Eighth-Order Black Ink Disciple’s eyes, but he quickly shook his head, “30,000 years was a long time ago. Who’d clearly remember anything that happened back then?”

Yang Kai’s lowered his eyes, “Old Sir, this means you must have also forgotten the sincerity of your goals and initial intent when you first stepped onto the Black Ink Battlefield!”

The Eighth-Order Black Ink Disciple chuckled, “Young man, are you trying to advise this Old Master to turn back after straying down the wrong path? Don’t waste your breath. Ever since this Old Master was enlightened by Black Ink Strength, this Old Master ceased to be a Human. You don’t need to try and lecture this Old Master.”

Yang Kai nodded lightly, “In that case, I won’t say anything more.”

“Seems to me that you’ve made up your mind,” the Eighth-Order Black Ink Disciple remarked as he eyed Yang Kai.

Yang Kai’s fighting intent surged as he pointed his spear forward and answered coolly, “Right here, right now, either you die or I perish!”

“Good, good, good!” The Eighth-Order Black Ink Disciple nodded, “You know, this Old Master was just as proud and relentless as you at that age. It’s a pity… Age creeps up on everyone! Since you’ve made your choice, this Old Master will fulfil it for you. How’s that? Are you ready to die, young man? In the state that this Old Master is in right now, it’s one thing if I choose to stand down, but if we are to fight, I will do so with full force. I won’t hold back at all.”

He had only just finished his sentence when Yang Kai suddenly flickered and appeared beside him. The Azure Dragon Spear pierced out as he unleashed the full potential of his Supreme Limitless Spear Art, sending a storm of blows towards the enemy.

The Eighth-Order Black Ink Disciple clearly did not expect Yang Kai to be this treacherous. He was caught unaware and did not have his guard up. In his haste, he raised his sword to fend off the attack and unleashed scores of sword waves at Yang Kai.

The two figures immediately engaged in battle.

Spear shadows and sword waves filled the void in a constant cycle of disappearing and reemerging once more. Apart from the sparks from the spear shadows and sword waves colliding, bursts of World Force clashed against each other with such ferocity that the local space became unstable.

The look of surprise on the Eighth-Order Black Ink Disciple increasingly intensified.

Although he was heavily injured, this Seventh-Order Junior did not seem to be in a much better state than him. Both of them had just survived a bitter battle, so neither one of them was in good condition.

Thus, the Eighth-Order Black Ink Disciple assumed that it would be fairly easy for him to kill this Seventh-Order Master. Yet, once the fight started, he realised that things were not as he had expected.

This Seventh-Order Junior had a mysterious Movement Skill that gave him a huge advantage of mobility. The Eighth-Order Black Ink Disciple had no choice but to focus on defending himself and to try and regain the initiative.

Had his opponent been an ordinary Seventh-Order Master, then it would not have been hard for him to regain the advantage. He could easily exhibit to his opponent what the difference in Orders signified in terms of strength.

However, this young Seventh-Order Master was clearly not ordinary. Each time their World Forces clashed, the Eighth-Order Black Ink Disciple could vividly sense the extreme density and purity of his opponent’s strength.

It was not the kind of strength that a Seventh-Order Open Heaven Realm Master was supposed to have. Judging by the purity alone, it was comparable to his own.

The Eighth-Order Black Ink Disciple could not help but feel stunned by this. He could not figure out how this young Seventh-Order Master could cultivate the strength within his Small Universe to this extent.

He had encountered numerous Seventh-Order Open Heaven Realm Masters in his life, but none were comparable to the young man in front of him now.

The higher the purity of the World Force, the more powerful the cultivator was. Moreover, the rigorousness of this young man’s World Force was also remarkable. It far surpassed what was to be expected from a Seventh-Order Open Heaven Realm Master.

[Where did this freak come from?] The Eighth-Order Black Ink Disciple was thoroughly perplexed.

Apart from that, he was also shocked by the young Seventh-Order Master’s accomplishments in the Spear Dao.

All his life, he focused on cultivating his Sword Dao. Even after becoming a Black Ink Disciple, he never stopped doing so; thus, after so many years, he had reached a very high state of attainment in it.

Yet, right now, a young man who was only a Seventh-Order Master managed to use his Spear Dao to fight against his own Sword Dao. Even though it required a fair amount of effort, he could still tell that the young man was highly accomplished in his cultivation of Spear Dao as well.

The young man’s Spear Dao was not as refined as his Sword Dao and was not of a domain as high as his, but it seemed to flow freely and effortlessly. The young man wielded his spear with such ease that it was impossible to discern any kind of pattern from his attacks, despite each of them being extremely sharp and precise.

A Spear Dao like this perfectly embodied the concepts of freedom and limitlessness. Even just the wielding of such a Spear Dao was enough to give those who witnessed it a sense of joy and satisfaction.

With pure and vigorous World Force and high attainment in the Spear Dao, this young man had every right to be arrogant. This was why the Black Ink Disciple failed to defeat him as quickly as predicted.

However, if this was all there was to it, then the outcome would not change in any way. After just a brief exchange of blows, the advantage that the young man gained earlier was beginning to slip away, and soon, he would slowly start to be disadvantaged in the fight.

Still, the Eighth-Order Black Ink Disciple was a little reluctant to kill off such a fine talent.

Even when he was still Human, he had already exhibited great appreciation for talented people. Even though he had been corrupted by Black Ink Strength for 30,000 years now and prioritised the Black Ink Clan over all else, this part of his personality did not change very much.

Thus, the more talented Yang Kai seemed, the less inclined the Black Ink Disciple was to kill him.

Amid the chaotic battle, the Eighth-Order Black Ink Disciple transmitted a message, “Little friend, this Old Master will ask you one last time. Are you willing to serve the Royal Lord? With your capabilities, if you gain the help of Black Ink Strength, you will one day become even stronger than this Old Master. Perhaps you might even be able to become a Ninth-Order Open Heaven Realm Master!”

Yang Kai did not stop attacking as he said, “So what if I can become a Ninth-Order Master? I will be enslaved by the Black Ink Clan and forced to kill my fellow Humans.”

“How would you know the joys of Black Ink Strength if you’ve never experienced its mysterious power for yourself?” The Eighth-Order Black Ink Disciple argued back.