Martial Peak
chapter-5290

Mu Nan Fei, one of Great Evolution Paradise’s 1,653rd-generation disciples, showed a special talent in cultivating since entering the Sect and was highly valued by them, supplemented by the careful education and the training of famous mentors.

He was also hardworking and diligent, cultivating seriously and never disappointing his Elders and just 800 years after stepping onto the Martial Dao, had advanced directly to the Sixth-Order Open Heaven Realm.

The day he broke through was a day when the sky opened up for him to fly high like a bird, but before his lofty plans could finally be realized, something suddenly happened to the Sect.

News came from the Black Ink Battlefield that Great Evolution Pass was being attacked by the Black Ink Clan Army and was in a precarious situation. So, Great Evolution Paradise quickly mobilized all its available troops to provide support.

Mu Nan Fei vividly remembered the day when all of the Open Heaven Realm Masters in the Sect, regardless of their Order, their gender, their age, or whether they were in the High-Rank, or the Low-Rank Open Heaven Realm, gathered together.

Led by many Eighth-Order Divine Monarchs, tens of thousands of Great Evolution Paradise’s Open Heaven Realm Masters marched out from the Sect and went towards the No-Return Pass before stepping into the Black Ink Battlefield.

Once they arrived at Great Evolution Pass, the situation was even worse than any one of them could have expected.

Far off in the distance came violent energy fluctuations. Naturally, it was the fallout of the Old Ancestor of Great Evolution Pass fighting with the Royal Lords. However, the Old Ancestor was facing 2 enemies, and having already been severely injured from a sneak attack, his aura had become extremely weak.

Outside of Great Evolution Pass, the Black Ink Clan Army poured in like a tide that resulted in many of the Humans either dead or injured.

There was simply no time for them to recover. All of the disciples who came from Great Evolution Paradise to provide support were thrown onto the battlefield as soon as they arrived. For these newcomers who had never fought the Black Ink Clan before, this war was extremely brutal and many perished the moment they stepped onto the battlefield.

Mu Nan Fei’s Dao Partner, a gentle woman who had been accompanying him for 500 years, was killed in that battle.

He was seeing red and had completely lost his mind as he fought madly until he exhausted all the strength in his body.

He had forgotten how that battle ended. He just knew that by the time he was conscious, Great Evolution Pass was gone. The entire Army that had been defending the Great Pass together with the Old Ancestor was completely wiped out.

All except for those of them who were corrupted by Black Ink Strength and transformed into Black Ink Disciples.

It had been 30,000 years since that happened.

The newly advanced Sixth Orders of then were now already in the Eighth Order, and among them, he was different from the rest. That was because he had advanced directly to the Sixth-Order Open Heaven Realm, and so his limit was the Eighth-Order, so he did not need Black Ink Strength to break through his shackles.

He could be described as a true Eighth-Order Open Heaven Realm Master that was no worse even when compared to the Human Race’s Eighth-Order Division Commanders. In a one-on-one fight, most Territory Lords may not even be a match for them.

His 30,000-year-long life as a Black Ink Disciple could almost be said to be extremely boring until the Human Armies came to retake Great Evolution Pass.

A bloody battlefield just like the one 30,000 years ago appeared, but this time, it was the Black Ink Clan who were on the losing end. The Humans reoccupied Great Evolution Pass while the Black Ink Clan incurred severe casualties and was forced to retreat to the Royal City, even having to willingly hand over one of their Mid-Rank Black Ink Nests.

The Royal Lord was furious while the Territory Lords were all extremely ashamed, vowing that they must force the Humans to give up that Black Ink Nest of their own accord.

They were quite successful when it came to hindering the Humans from using the Black Ink Nest at first, because the Humans had to connect their consciousness to the Black Ink Nest’s consciousness in order to use it. Inside of the Black Ink Nest Space, the Black Ink Clan occupied an absolute advantage.

They had beaten several Eighth-Order Open Heaven Realm Masters and forced them to flee, and even the Old Ancestor had to return empty-handed after her visit. The Territory Lords thought that they had cornered the Humans.

That was until a strange fellow appeared.

2 successive attacks from this Human left 4 Territory Lords either dead or severely injured, and when all the Territory Lords thought that he was dead with certainty, he appeared for a third time.

Another 2 Eighth-Order Black Ink Disciples died because of him.

The Territory Lords had been locked in a stalemate with this Human for 3 years now.

That man was protected by the Soul Warming Lotus, so even the Territory Lords could do nothing about him. They could only hope that his Small Universe would be sucked dry by the Black Ink Nest, which would in turn cause his Small Universe to collapse and kill him.

However, after waiting for 3 years, Mu Nan Fei and the other Eighth-Order Black Ink Disciple could finally hold on no longer.

In the final moments of their lives, the 2 Black Ink Disciples opened their eyes in unison, seemingly as if something had awoken and resonated between them.

As their gazes met, they could both see the confusion in each other’s eyes.

What had they been doing all these years? Why would they willingly become the minions of the Black Ink Clan? Why would they willingly turn their blades against the Human Race?

How could the sins of this life be washed away by their mere deaths?

Without need for words or deliberation, the 2 Eighth-Order Black Ink Disciples emitted a brilliant light in the final throes of their life.

Their extremely weak Spiritual Energy burst into flames all of a sudden, and as they supported each other, they shot across the strange empty space and charged straight into one of the Territory Lords.

The Territory Lords were completely unguarded, with all of their attention focused on the Soul Warming Lotus, or rather, the Seventh-Order Human hiding inside of it.

These days, the Seventh-Order Open Heaven Realm Master would open his mouth and make a bunch of noise from time to time, annoying them to no end.

Though it was annoying, the one thing that was giving hope to the Territory Lords was the fact that this guy’s voice seemed to be getting weaker and weaker, as if he was on the verge of death.

And yet he simply refused to die, clinging stubbornly to life from beginning to end.

The Territory Lords were all sick of him. He wouldn’t live either way, so couldn’t he just make it quick?

Burning the last bit of energy in their Souls, the 2 Eighth-Order Black Ink Disciples charged over, but the Territory Lords didn’t notice them at all.

It wasn’t until they rammed into Hong Di, that he suddenly turned around with a livid expression and roared, “What are you doing!?”

If it were any ordinary Eighth-Order Black Ink Disciples joining hands like this, then even Hong Di would not be able to withstand it if he was caught completely off guard; however, these 2 were too weak now. Even burning the last of their Spiritual Energy, ramming into Hong Di felt like they were doing no more than scratching an itch.

Hong Di didn’t even feel much impact from it.

The flash of light dimmed, and the 2 figures relying on each other reappeared. However, at this moment, both Mu Nan Fei and the other Eighth-Order Black Ink Disciple’s Soul Avatar were dull to the point of transparency, and they were fading quickly. It was clear that they were about to fade away.

However, Mu Nan Fei laughed, “A fitting death for us. Ancestors of Great Evolution Paradise, this Disciple will set off now!”

The other Black Ink Disciple nodded, “Together, we shall go together!”

With those words, the 2 Soul Avatars faded completely, dissipating as if they had never existed before.

The Territory Lords watched this scene in silence, deep frowns drawn between their brows. Though they lamented the loss of 2 Eighth-Order Black Ink Disciples, they were more curious about the reaction these 2 showed before death… It was quite strange.

However, they were not given much time to ponder the issue as a powerful burst of Spiritual Energy was released at that moment, followed by the emergence of an extremely dangerous aura.

The Territory Lords were all shocked and hurriedly turned back, only to see that the Soul Warming Lotus had opened up at some point, and the Human who had caused them so much pain was standing in the middle of the blooming flower. Divine Sense locking onto a Territory Lord, a golden light shot out.

None of them had expected this Human to rise up and make trouble for them at such a time, but what puzzled them more was the fact that this Human did not seem weak in the slightest. His Soul Avatar was dense and solid, pervading with an imposing might, just short of glistening to show off his power.

[How could this be!?] The eyes of the Territory Lords almost popped out of their sockets.

Even if he had the Soul Warming Lotus to nourish his Soul, what could he do if his physical body failed to hold on? The 2 Eighth-Order Black Ink Disciples were the perfect example of that.

However, looking at this Human now, the past 3 years did not seem to have made a dent in his strength.

[This is impossible!]

Unlike his attacks from before, Yang Kai did not scream miserably this time, yet violent pain still shot through his Soul Avatar, as if his very being was being torn apart. He forced himself to bear with it only so that he could make this sudden attack, and the effects were remarkable.

The attention of the Territory Lords were drawn to the strange actions of the 2 Black Ink Disciples. And, further dulled by the preconceived notion that Yang Kai had no more power to fight, none of them kept their guard up.

The first Soul Rending Thorn hit one of the Soul Avatars of the Territory Lords squarely, sinking in viciously, sending him flying back as he screamed, drawing distance between himself and Yang Kai.

But could Yang Kai still have the energy to bother with him? A second Soul Rending Thorn was already targeting a different Territory Lord.

He originally wished to attack Hong Di, as from their previous exchanges, it seemed that this Territory Lord was of a higher status than the others, so it would naturally be more meaningful to kill him off or at least severely injure him.

Unfortunately, whether intentionally or not, Hong Di was now the furthest away from him.

Yang Kai had no choice but to choose a closer, more certain target.

As the second Soul Rending Thorn came out, the Territory Lords had also aimed a flurry of attacks at Yang Kai.

However, Yang Kai did not pay them the slightest mind. He had already summoned the Soul Warming Lotus to protect himself and was not as helpless as he was before, so why would he still have to fear the attacks of these Territory Lords?

Violent Spiritual Energy collided with the Soul Warming Lotus, but only a seven-coloured ripple appeared on its light halo before the attacks were completely dissipated. On the other hand, Yang Kai’s second Soul Rending Thorn broke through the Soul defences of the Territory Lord in an instant, nailing straight into his body.

However, he fared a little better than the first Territory Lord, for he had at least taken some precautions. The Soul Rending Thorn did not dig into his body completely, a small portion of it remaining outside, making it look as if he had been struck by an arrow.

A similar howl of pain left the second Territory Lord’s mouth though as he stumbled backwards, his Soul stirring violently.

Whether it be in its refinement or use, the Soul Rending Thorn had cost Yang Kai a great deal of energy to activate, so it was naturally very powerful.

Its limitations were such that anyone who obtained it would only be able to use it as a one-time trump card, impossible to bring out again after one use.

However, Yang Kai could use it over and over again thanks to the Soul Warming Lotus which would always repair his damaged Soul.

So what did it matter?

Once they saw that Yang Kai had already released 2 Soul Rending Thorns, the remaining 4 unharmed Territory Lords finally breathed sighs of relief.

Based on their past experiences, this Human could at most use that strange artifact twice before becoming incapacitated. It was impossible for him to shoot out a third needle within a short period of time.

Before they could even finish that thought though, a terrifying scene emerged.

As Yang Kai opened his mouth, a third Soul Rending Thorn shot out like a golden light just as the Territory Lords began to relax!

The timing was perfect.

This strike was even more effective than the first and second ones as the Soul Rending Thorn shot straight into the Soul Avatar of a third Territory Lord, disappearing from sight.

Another wail of horror broke out!

Throughout the Black Ink Nest Space, Soul auras fluctuated madly, from the 3 injured Territory Lords to the 3 unharmed Territory Lords, as well as Yang Kai’s. It was pure chaos.