Martial Peak
chapter-5274

30,000 years ago, when Great Evolution Pass was taken, some of the Human soldiers damaged the Space Array in order to prevent the Black Ink Clan from using it to cause trouble.

When the Black Ink Clan occupied Great Evolution Pass, they did not destroy the Space Array, but instead tried to repair it; so, there was no problem with the basic framework of Great Evolution Pass’ Space Array. With Yang Kai personally attending to it, half a year went by, and the repairs were basically complete.

When he activated the array and set the destination to Wind and Cloud Pass, the Space Array could be said to be operating normally, and a Void Corridor was opened between Great Evolution Pass straight to Wind and Cloud Pass.

Only, this corridor was not quite the same as usual. Yang Kai’s way here had been fraught with obstacles, and if not for his mastery of the Dao of Space, it was entirely possible that he would not have made it.

It was a struggle!

As soon as he popped out of the Void and saw the many Eighth-Order Open Heaven Realm Masters staring at him, Yang Kai’s thoughts spun for a moment before he realised what was going on.

This was the destination he had inputted into Great Evolution Pass’ Space Array, so there must have been signs that someone or something was trying to teleport over, which drew the attention of the higher-ups.

That was the reason why so many Eighth-Order Open Heaven Realm Masters were gathered here.

A few of them were familiar to Yang Kai, so he must have seen them from afar the last time he came to Wind and Cloud Pass.

Yuan Xing Ge nodded lightly, “Which Pass are you from? What has gone wrong with this Space Array, and why did it take so long for you to appear?”

Cupping his fist, Yang Kai quickly said, “Great Evolution Pass, Yang Kai!”

As soon as he said that, a commotion broke out as all the faces of the Eighth-Order Open Heaven Realm Masters changed.

Tian Lu exclaimed, “Great Evolution Pass? You came from Great Evolution Pass?”

“What is the situation at Great Evolution Pass?”

“If you came from Great Evolution Pass, does that mean that it has been retaken?”

…..

One after another, the Eighth-Order Open Heaven Realm Masters asked their questions. It was easy to see just how concerned they were.

After the establishment of the Great Evolution East-West Army at Wind and Cloud Pass, and the North-South Army at Azure Void Pass 150 years ago, the two forces had sailed towards Great Evolution Theatre from opposite directions, pincering the Black Ink Clan at Great Evolution Pass with the intention of recovering it.

For over 100 years, nobody had any idea what the situation in the Great Evolution Theatre was, or how its recovery was progressing.

Every Great Pass was waiting for news from the Great Evolution Army with bated breath.

Even though they knew that the Great Evolution Army was mighty and equipped with the finest arms, almost twice as strong as the force guarding any of the Great Passes, they had to venture deep into the Black Ink Clan’s territory for a war with no shelter or fallback position, no one could say whether they would ultimately gain victory or suffer defeat.

Since the war began, 150 years had passed.

Now, a Seventh-Order Open Heaven Realm Master suddenly appeared from the Space Array and claimed to have come from Great Evolution Pass. How could the Eighth-Order Masters of Wind and Cloud Pass not feel thrilled to hear the news?

“Did you truly come from Great Evolution Pass?” Yuan Xing Ge asked him. This matter was far too important for them to take lightly.

Yang Kai answered, “Sir can verify it easily.”

An Eighth-Order Open Heaven Realm Master on the sidelines suddenly spoke up, “Yang Kai, this name… Could you be the Yang Kai who can use Purifying Light?”

“It is this Yang!” Yang Kai nodded.

Everyone immediately understood.

There were countless Seventh-Order Open Heaven Realm Masters on the Black Ink Battlefield, but if there was anyone whose name could be remembered by the Eighth-Order Masters of almost all of the Great Passes, then Yang Kai was likely the only one.

The emergence of Purifying Light gave the Humans a way to fight against Black Ink Strength for the first time in history, and as the sole possessor of Purifying Light, Yang Kai’s name naturally became widely known.

Only, not many people had actually met him in person. Add on the fact that he had mentioned the three words Great Evolution Pass earlier, and everyone’s focus had fallen on that instead while none of them paid attention to his name.

If it was the Yang Kai who could use Purifying Light, then he had to be from the Great Evolution Army, no doubt about it.

Yuan Xing Ge knew that the Old Ancestor had personally requested that Yang Kai join the campaign to recover Great Evolution Pass. It seemed like his presence was of some help to the Old Ancestor’s recovery.

Though he had no idea what help a Seventh-Order Open Heaven Realm Master would be in the recovery of a venerable Ninth-Order Master, since it was the Old Ancestor who named him, she naturally had her reasons.

“Has Great Evolution Pass been retaken?” Yuan Xing Ge asked.

Yang Kai replied, “Half a year ago, the Great Evolution East-West Army and North-South Army rendezvoused at Great Evolution Pass and successfully recovered the Great Pass!”

“Wonderful!” One of the Eighth-Order Open Heaven Realm Masters exclaimed. They had waited 150 years to hear this news, so none of them could help but be overjoyed.

“How are… Great Evolution Army’s casualties?” Tian Lu asked.

Yang Kai answered in a pained voice, “The total number of soldiers stationed at Great Evolution Pass currently number around 33,000, with around 70 Eighth-Order Masters.”

Hearing this figure, everyone fell silent.

They knew the initial composition of the Great Evolution Army, so this number indicated that after fighting for 150 years, almost half had perished, which was enough to show just how brutal the war had been. It had to be known that such losses were almost the entire garrison strength of a normal Great Pass.

However, all of them knew that this was the price that had to be paid. For the Army to lead a campaign to Great Evolution Theatre without a Great Pass to rely on, and with the Black Ink Clan occupying favourable conditions and an advantageous position, how could they possibly have retaken Great Evolution Pass successfully in 150 years without paying a steep price?

Now, all they could hope was for the dead to rest in peace.

Yuan Xing Ge nodded lightly, “Since you came from Great Evolution Pass, it means that the Space Array there has been repaired. This is an important matter. I must send someone to verify it.”

Yang Kai nodded, “Of course. Only… there seems to be a problem with this Space Array.”

“What problem?” Yuan Xing Ge asked.

Yang Kai gave him a basic summary of what he encountered in the Void Corridor, “However, this Junior has yet to find what the problem is exactly.”

Yuan Xing Ge was silent for a moment before continuing, “We will know once we give it a try.” They had also seen the anomaly with the Space Gate earlier and knew that Yang Kai’s words were true.

At once, they instructed their subordinates to make preparations for a transit to Great Evolution Pass.

The soldiers guarding the Grand Hall were all familiar with the process, so they set up the necessary materials quickly and soon, everything was ready.

At Yuan Xing Ge’s signal, the array was quickly activated.

The patterns lit up and the Grand Array hummed. Following the rapid draining of energy from the crystals, a Space Gate quickly opened!

“Huh?” Yang Kai looked flabbergasted.

He had clearly encountered a problem when he was teleporting from Great Evolution Pass to Wind and Cloud Pass, so going from Wind and Cloud Pass to Great Evolution Pass should result in the same issues; however, from what he could see now, there were no obstructions during this activation of the Grand Array, and the Space Gate was now opened normally.

The cultivator in charge of the array went forward to check before moving over to report, “The array is working fine. It has successfully connected with Great Evolution Pass.”

“Let me see,” As he spoke, Yang Kai had already stepped onto the array and activated his Space Principles, investigating the situation with his Divine Sense.

A few moments later, something that baffled him even more appeared.

During his investigation, he realized that there were indeed no problems this time, which only added to his doubts and suspicions.

[If there were truly no issues, then what happened earlier?]

“I will personally make a trip to Great Evolution Pass,” Tian Lu announced. As Wind and Cloud Pass’s Northern Army’s Army Commander, he was qualified enough both in status and strength for this task, and it was a perfect opportunity to have him investigate the situation personally.

Yuan Xing Ge nodded, “Then I shall trouble you, Brother Tian.”

Without further ado, Tian Lu turned around and stepped through the Space Gate, quickly disappearing from sight.

Yuan Xing Ge did not wait in place, but rather turned to Yang Kai, “You, come with me.”

He had received a transmission through his Divine Sense just now, naturally from the Old Ancestor of Wind and Cloud Pass who noticed what was going on here and had questions for this Yang Kai who had come from Great Evolution Pass.

Yang Kai complied.

Following Yuan Xing Ge, it did not take long for them to arrive at an extremely remote corner of Wind and Cloud Pass which could almost be considered an inconspicuous nook, a place that was easy to miss even for the soldiers in Wind and Cloud Pass who lived here year-round if they did not pay attention.

There were not many buildings here, but it seemed more like some fields and gardens had been planted. It was a land of green mountains and clear waters with several lazy oxen grazing at the foot of the mountain.

Upon arriving here, Yang Kai noticed that this was not truly a part of Wind and Cloud Pass, but rather the Small Universe of a High-Rank Open Heaven Realm Master.

Everything one could see before them was the scenery inside that Small Universe.

This Small Universe gave one a sense of ease, but it was strange that Yang Kai would be able to step into this Small Universe inside Wind and Cloud Pass without any sense of abruptness. Everything seemed perfectly natural, as if this Small Universe had already become a part of Wind and Cloud Pass.

Yuan Xing Ge stood in front of the old oxen grazing on the grass and bowed to one of them, “Old Ancestor, I brought him.”

Yang Kai’s eyes practically fell out of their sockets. [Why is the Old Ancestor of Wind and Cloud Pass an Ox? Is this his Avatar?]

He had never met the Old Ancestor of Wind and Cloud Pass before. Though, when he had stopped by Wind and Cloud Pass 150 years ago, and Yang Kai had felt the power of the Old Ancestor and the Royal Lord during their confrontation, that was only from a distance.

Surprisingly, the old ox that was grazing on the grass could even speak human words, “So this is the boy? I have some impression of him. That little girl from Yin-Yang Pass told me about him last time.”

The ‘little girl’ from Yin-Yang Pass that he was talking about should be Old Ancestor Xiao Xiao.

They were both similarly Old Ancestors, but there was still a huge difference between them in seniority. The Old Ancestor of Wind and Cloud Pass was clearly much older than Old Ancestor Xiao Xiao.

Yang Kai did not dare to dally and quickly bowed to the old ox, “Great Evolution Army’s Yang Kai greets Old Ancestor.”

A wrinkled face suddenly peeked out from behind the ox, glancing at him with an obscure smile on his lips. He passed the tender blades of grass in his hand to the old ox, feeding it leisurely.

Yang Kai immediately felt embarrassed.

He thought that the Old Ancestor was the old ox, but it never occurred to him that he was actually just hidden behind the cow.

“The reoccupation of Great Evolution Pass is a joyous event. Inform the rest of the Great Passes, this is a matter worth celebrating for all of us,” the Old Ancestor said, “However, this Old Master is more interested in the matters of the fight between the Great Evolution Army and the Black Ink Clan. This Old Ancestor has called you over for no other reason than to find out about what the Great Evolution Army has encountered over the years, so please speak casually.”

“Yes!” Yang Kai answered respectfully.

Even though the Old Ancestor said that he could speak casually, Yang Kai did not dare to take him up on his word.

At once, he told him of the Great Evolution East-West Army’s encounter with the Black Ink Clan Army shortly after their departure from Wind and Cloud Pass, and about how Xiang Shan had deliberately let a Territory Lord escape to lure the tiger from the mountain, as well as about the Puppet Army numbering in the tens of thousands without sparing any resources while they were on the march, which were then released as they approached Great Evolution Pass to draw the Black Ink Clan’s attention while their Army went straight into the Black Ink Clan’s territory to attack. The whole army at that time seemed like a long Dragon, eliminating everything in its wake.

After that, the East-West Army set up camp outside of the Royal City, and with the help of weaponized Universe Worlds, attacked the Royal City multiple times. Old Ancestor Xiao Xiao and the Royal Lord fought in each battle, mutually wounding one another before the former recovered inside Yang Kai’s Small Universe. While Old Ancestor Xiao Xiao would always make a complete recovery after 20 years, she would feign being injured so that the Royal Lord would lower his guard. Over the past 100 years, she was able to accumulate a significant advantage, and in their last battle, she was almost able to kill the Royal Lord.