Martial Peak
chapter-5249

The injury that Old Ancestor Xiao Xiao had suffered from was less severe this time, so it was easier for her to recover; however, this time, she only wandered around within Yang Kai’s Small Universe, unlike the previous time when she experienced a kind of life she never had.

Therefore, it took her 80 years before she could fully recover.

The moment the Old Ancestor was done recuperating, the Humans mobilised again.

20 years had passed in the outside world. Other than getting some rest, the East-West Army had also been preparing for the next battle so that when the Old Ancestor recovered, they could launch an attack on the Royal City.

Now, the time had come.

After an order was passed down, 16 Universe Worlds that had been properly set up began accelerating from somewhere deep in the void and headed straight to the Royal City.

In the meantime, the Human Warships started rising into the sky from the back of the forward base.

Meanwhile, the Old Ancestor flew out towards the Royal City on her own.

This time, she didn’t take action along with the Army; instead, she decided to take the initiative to leave the forward base first.

The same method wouldn’t work twice, so the Old Ancestor decided to do something different this time and catch the Black Ink Clan off guard.

The Black Ink Clansmen from the Royal City had been closely monitoring the Humans’ forward base; however, the enemy had not made a move for the past 20 years.

The Humans’ inaction made them feel ill at ease, as though there was an invisible blade hanging above their heads. The suspense made them feel distressed.

When the Human Warships circled around the forward base and appeared in the void, the Feudal Lords, who were responsible for monitoring the situation, instantly noticed it.

They promptly reported it to their higher-ups, and the news soon reached Che Kong.

He stepped out of the cabin of his large ship and looked out from the deck. The Human Warships were indeed approaching them from a distance.

Without hesitation, he said to the female Territory Lord, who had been following him, “Keep monitoring the Human soldiers. I’ll return to the Royal City to awaken the Royal Lord!”

The Royal Lord had previously suffered a loss because of the Old Ancestor’s sneak attack; therefore, when he returned, he told Che Kong that, when the Humans invaded the Royal City next time, the latter had to immediately wake him so that he wouldn’t be caught off guard again.

He wouldn’t have given such an order if he had a choice, as no Black Ink Clansman was willing to be forcefully awakened when they were recuperating, for this would be disruptive to their recovery. This was especially true for a Royal Lord.

Nevertheless, such drawbacks were inconsequential compared to the possibility of the Old Ancestor launching a sneak attack on him again; after all, when the Old Ancestor struck, the Royal Lord would immediately awaken anyway. Hence, he would rather let his subordinate wake him up first so that he could get prepared.

Certainly, Che Kong wouldn’t dare to disobey the Royal Lord’s order.

However, since the Human Warships had just taken off, it would take them at least half a day before they would reach the Royal City; therefore, he reckoned that he wouldn’t have to wake the Royal Lord in a hurry.

After he spoke to the female Territory Lord, Che Kong immediately headed to the Royal City.

Nevertheless, not long after he left, he abruptly turned around.

A dangerous aura was rapidly approaching, one that caused Che Kong and the female Territory Lord’s expressions to change drastically.

The Old Ancestor was already on her way!

This was something they had never anticipated as they all thought that the Old Ancestor would take action along with the Human Army, so it surprised them that she had made a move first. By the time they realised that the Human soldiers were mobilizing, the Old Ancestor had already arrived near the Royal City.

With no time to mull over what the Old Ancestor was up to, Che Kong roared, “Enemy attack!”

The next instant, a phantom-like figure crashed into the Black Ink Clan soldiers who were just outside the Royal City. As her violent World Force surged, the entire void seemed to be boiling as though a burning piece of iron had fallen into cold water.

When one of the most powerful Human cultivators flared up at the Black Ink Clan soldiers, ignoring her status completely, the damage she could cause was catastrophic.

It was because there was practically no one who could stop her. Without the Royal Lord around, even the Territory Lords and the Eighth-Order Black Ink Disciples were at risk of losing their lives.

Thousands of Black Ink Clansmen lost their lives every breath. With the petite figure as the centre, the Black Ink Clansmen around her melted away like snowflakes under the scorching Sun.

Many Feudal Lords, and even some Territory Lords and Eighth-Order Black Ink Disciples lost their lives to this sneak attack.

In just 10 breaths, some 50,000 Black Ink Clansmen had been slaughtered.

The Black Ink Clan’s formation had descended into chaos as the Black Ink Clansmen instinctively cast their Secret Techniques at the figure, but their attempts were all futile. More often than not, they accidentally injured their own allies rather than hitting the enemy.

Some of the Black Ink Clansmen were killed by their own clansmen instead of the Old Ancestor, which was quite miserable.

10 breaths of time was all it took for many Black Ink Clansmen to be laid to rest forever.

Meanwhile, the same amount of time was sufficient for the Royal Lord to come to his senses.

The Old Ancestor’s power had burst forth just outside the Royal City; therefore, the Royal Lord could clearly sense it even though he was in a state of deep slumber.

Before the Old Ancestor could cause more chaos and casualties to the Black Ink Clan, the Royal Lord furiously shot out of the Royal City, his form engulfed in thick Black Ink Strength. Infuriated, he went all out and struck at Old Ancestor Xiao Xiao, forcing her back.

A hint of redness flashed through her fair face, but it soon disappeared. Hovering in the void, she stared at the Royal Lord from a distance. Her alluring eyes seemed able to see through the Black Ink Strength and take in the fury and puzzlement behind the Royal Lord’s gaze.

The Royal Lord was indeed furious and puzzled.

He was furious because only 20 years had passed, but this insane woman came to harass him again, interrupting his healing just like last time.

On the other hand, he wondered if all Humans were so crazy. He was certain that this woman hadn’t fully recovered as during their exchange just now, he could clearly sense some fluctuations in her aura.

Certainly, he couldn’t exclude the possibility that the other party was hiding her true power; however, that was practically impossible.

With the help of his Black Ink Nest, he had only healed some 30% of his injuries over the last 20 years. This Old Ancestor, whose Secret Art was unique and had far harsher conditions to satisfy, had to be in an even more terrible state.

She had provoked him twice when she was still injured. Apparently, while she was in a horrible state, she also wouldn’t let her opponent enjoy any peaceful days. Why was she so crazy?

Although they were mutually wounded in the last two fights, that didn’t mean they couldn’t still fight. However, if she kept doing this, their foundations would be damaged even though they were respectively a Royal Lord and a Ninth-Order Open Heaven Realm Master.

As he looked at the woman before his eyes, the image of the Ninth-Order Open Heaven Realm Master, who was in command of Great Evolution Pass 30,000 years ago, sprang to his mind.

That person was equally mad; otherwise, he wouldn’t have managed to drag the previous Royal Lord down with him even after suffering a severe wound due to a sneak attack.

It seemed that the Humans were indeed a horrifying Race.

These two most powerful Masters stared at each other from a distance. Although there wasn’t an exchange of words or moves, the silent pressure made the Black Ink Clan soldiers too terrified to say anything.

Gazing at the Old Ancestor, the Royal Lord asked, “What’s the point of doing all this?”

Although his question lacked any kind of context, the Old Ancestor understood what he meant.

He felt that since both of them were injured, they should recuperate on their own and let the subordinates fight with one another. The result would be dependent on their subordinates’ strength, and they shouldn’t interfere.

That would be fairer for both sides.

What was the point of her provoking the Royal Lord when she was still injured? They would just end up being mutually wounded again, and none of them would gain any advantage.

Upon hearing that, Xiao Xiao put on a smile, “Humans are weak, so we have no choice but to act a little crazy. As an Old Ancestor, I naturally have to put in more effort.”

Including this time, she had exchanged moves with the Royal Lord thrice, but it was the first time they had spoken to one another. The previous times, they directly clashed with one another without any attempt to communicate.

The reason she was even willing to talk to him was that the East-West Army was still on its way. If she could stall for time, it would be helpful for the Humans who were planning to attack.

As long as she was around, the Black Ink Clansmen, whose formation had been disrupted, wouldn’t be able to effectively reorganise themselves.

The Royal Lord lowered his gaze, “Since you know that Humans are weak, why don’t you pledge loyalty to the Black Ink Clan? The Humans are destined to be ruled by the Black Ink Clan one day. You’re one of the most powerful of the Humans, so I’m sure you’re aware of it.”

Old Ancestor Xiao Xiao snorted, “Stop boasting shamelessly! What makes you think the Black Ink Clan will rule over the Humans one day? Since time immemorial, the Black Ink Clan has never been able to step out of the Black Ink Battlefield. As long as Humans still live, we will never let you succeed.”

The Royal Lord shook his head, “How obstinate!”

Old Ancestor Xiao Xiao refuted, “We can never see eye to eye.”

The Royal Lord stopped persuading her as he turned to look at the Human Warships that were sailing towards the Royal City from a distance. He then suggested by saying, “For today’s war, why don’t we watch from the sides and not interfere?”

Honestly, even though he could derive energy from his Black Ink Nest, he wasn’t willing to fight with her today.

That was because he hadn’t recovered. Although he wouldn’t be at a disadvantage by making use of the Black Ink Nest’s power, it would slow down his recovery considerably. Moreover, he didn’t have the confidence to kill this woman, so the end result would only be a massive loss of resources and more wounds on his body.

If he had the confidence to win, he would have directly made a move instead of talking to her.

Although they had only exchanged moves a few times, he had come to realise that she was a difficult opponent to deal with.

Upon hearing his suggestion, Old Ancestor Xiao Xiao shook her head, “No. Since I’m here, I’ll not watch the fight and do nothing.”

The Royal Lord snapped, “Don’t go too far!”

He had already conceded quite a bit to her by suggesting that they wouldn’t have a hand in the battle on this day; after all, before he left the Black Ink Nest, Old Ancestor Xiao Xiao had killed several tens of thousands of Black Ink Clansmen, including some Territory Lords and Eighth-Order Black Ink Disciples.

He had decided not to settle accounts with her over this insult, but this woman still wouldn’t agree to it.

That was the reason he was enraged.

The next instant, a puff of Black Ink Strength appeared beside Old Ancestor Xiao Xiao. The Black Ink Strength turned into a contorted face as it howled in silence.

Although the howl was silent, it was as though it could penetrate a person’s mind and cause them to fall into a state of restlessness. Even an Eighth-Order Open Heaven Realm Master would freeze for a moment after getting struck.

It was apparently the Royal Lord’s move.

The instant the strange Secret Technique was cast, the Royal Lord charged towards Old Ancestor Xiao Xiao and pushed his palm.

Old Ancestor Xiao Xiao sneered, “You said we should just watch from the sides, but you didn’t hesitate to make a move. You’re indeed a typical Royal Lord, aren’t you?”

The Royal Lord snorted, “Since you’ve already turned me down, all that’s left to do is fight!”