Martial Peak
chapter-5509

Territory Lords with varying degrees of injury were standing vigilantly around the No-Return Pass, their Divine Senses interlaced together.

Half a day earlier, an Eighth-Order Human’s surprise attack had completely humiliated them. Not only did that Human destroy three High-Rank Black Ink Nests, he even killed a Territory Lord as well.

Their Royal Lord had personally chased after the attacker, but they did not know what the situation was like over there.

That being said, they all believed that there was very little chance for the Eighth-Order Open Heaven Realm Master to survive; after all, there was a huge disparity between an Eighth-Order Human and a Royal Lord.

Right now, what they were wary of was the possibility of that Human having a partner.

The Royal Lord was preoccupied elsewhere, and even though there were a large number of Territory Lords at the No-Return Pass, 80% of them were those who had returned from the 3,000 Worlds to recuperate. Less than 10 Territory Lords here were uninjured.

They could very well suffer a serious loss if a large number of Human Masters attacked them now.

Yet, after waiting around for half the day and seeing no sign of any incoming attack, the Territory Lords let their guards down for the most part. After all, the Black Ink Clan had taken control of the No-Return Pass and the Humans had long since retreated to the 3,000 Worlds. It was unlikely for a large number of Human Race Masters to appear.

Some of the more heavily injured Territory Lords had already returned to the Black Ink Nests to continue slumbering away in recovery.

The remaining Territory Lords were still standing guard, but they were not as vigilant as they were at the beginning.

Just then, a familiar aura suddenly appeared in their midst. The Territory Lords were alarmed as they quickly turned in that direction.

One look and they saw a Human figure manifest out of the blue above a High-Rank Black Ink Nest as a Great Sun rose into the sky.

A ferocious aura of destruction burst forth.

The Territory Lords dashed over at once to attack.

The Human had somehow managed to evade the Royal Lord’s chase! Not only did he not die, but he even wheeled around to attack once more and destroy yet another High-Rank Black Ink Nest!

By the time the Territory Lords rushed to that High-Rank Black Ink Nest, there was no longer any sign of their enemy. Once the Great Sun exploded, the Human Eighth-Order Master that had popped out of nowhere disappeared into thin air.

All that was left was the remains of a High-Rank Black Ink Nest that had been shattered to pieces and a Territory Lord who was in a terrible state.

This Territory Lord had been sleeping inside the Black Ink Nest earlier to recuperate, and although his life was not in any danger right now, he had already been heavily injured and after getting caught in Yang Kai’s attack, his wounds became much more severe.

He appeared after the Black Ink Nest was destroyed, and right now, he looked as if he was in a state of shock, though he was secretly thankful for being lucky enough to survive.

The Territory Lords were infuriated. They could not believe how arrogant that Human was for daring to return even though there were so many of them standing guard. He was clearly disdaining them all.

They started wondering where their Royal Lord was as he had chased after the Human, but the Human had returned while the Royal Lord was nowhere to be seen.

Alas, before they could figure things out, the same aura erupted from a different direction.

Nearly all of the Territory Lords had gathered in front of the Black Ink Nest that Yang Kai had just destroyed, which meant that the other areas were barely protected at all.

Yang Kai had originally intended to attack just once and leave, but with such a good opportunity in front of him, he could not resist showing himself again.

Just as he did before, he used Golden Crow Casts the Sun and a Great Sun rose and crashed down onto another High-Rank Black Ink Nest. This attack turned the Black Ink Nest into nothing but dust, and a host of Black Ink Clansmen who were in the vicinity died as well.

A large crowd of Territory Lords swiftly began rushing over to the newly destroyed Black Ink Nest, but one of them was quick-witted enough to realise what was happening and he roared, “Spread out quickly! Protect all the Black Ink Nests!”

They could not let themselves be dragged around by the nose like this. Their opponent could disappear and reappear on a whim, so even though they had the numerical advantage, their opponent showed no intention of engaging them in a fight. It was clear what this Human was trying to do. He wanted to destroy all the High-Rank Black Ink Nests.

Thanks to this warning, the Territory Lords quickly realised what was going on and immediately separated into different areas to guard all the High-Rank Black Ink Nests.

Thus, Yang Kai could not strike as easily as he did earlier. As long as a single Territory Lord kept him occupied long enough, more could rush over and join the fight.

After destroying the second High-Rank Black Ink Nest, Yang Kai wanted to back off and leave right away, but when he saw that the Territory Lords did not come after him and had, instead, scattered to guard the other High-Rank Black Ink Nests, he no longer felt rushed to escape. He simply remained standing where he was and observed them in silence.

The Territory Lord who had spoken earlier noticed this, and his expression turned grim as well. This Human was behaving far too arrogantly, and it was beyond what these Territory Lords could bear.

His Divine Sense flickered as he communicated with those around him, and all at once, a number of Territory Lords rushed into action and charged towards Yang Kai.

Half a day ago, they witnessed how Yang Kai appeared at the No-Return Pass and killed off a Territory Lord with just a single spear thrust, so they knew that this Human was incredibly powerful. In a one-on-one fight, there was no guarantee that any of them could hold their ground against him.

Furthermore, this Human even managed to escape from a Royal Lord’s pursuit, leaving the latter who knows where.

They knew that Yang Kai was no ordinary Eighth-Order Open Heaven Realm Master. He had to be one of the strongest Human Masters in that realm.

Thus, the Territory Lords were joining forces because they feared their opponent.

When Yang Kai saw the group of Territory Lords rushing over, he secretly praised the Territory Lord who had taken charge for coming up with an appropriate strategy. If they simply grouped together without thinking things through, then the High-Rank Black Ink Nests at the No-Return Pass would be left unguarded and undoubtedly suffer unimaginable damage.

However, the Territory Lords had split up to guard different areas now and had even organized a group to subdue him. This was the optimal course of action for them.

Yang Kai’s situation was less than ideal. He was fairly injured after being chased down by the Royal Lord for half a day, and although he got to recuperate for four hours or so, he was only able to slightly restore himself.

It would be hard for him to take on a single Innate Territory Lord who was at full strength, let alone a group of them unless he used more Soul Rending Thorns.

However, Yang Kai was not a reckless individual. Since he could not take these enemies on, he chose to avoid them instead.

Yang Kai’s eyes searched around before landing in a specific direction. It was the direction of the first Black Ink Nest he destroyed when he appeared earlier. He raised his hand and summoned his Azure Dragon Spear before smiling in that direction.

While it was true that the High-Rank Black Ink Nest had already been destroyed, a severely injured Territory Lord remained there.

This Territory Lord was the unlucky one who had been recuperating inside the Black Ink Nest and ended up getting caught in Yang Kai’s attack. His injuries, which had taken a turn for the better at first, had now worsened instead. Thus, he was currently in a rueful mood.

All of a sudden, a piercing aura locked onto him from afar and the Territory Lord looked up, only to see Yang Kai flashing him a wicked grin.

“Damn it!” The Territory Lord became alarmed. Naturally, he knew that he had become a target. He was now severely injured and could barely use half his strength. If this Eighth-Order Open Heaven Realm Master had set his eyes on him, then he had no way of fighting back, so his immediate thought was to request help from his fellow Black Ink Clansmen.

However, after looking around, he realised that the other Territory Lords who had gathered near him earlier had all scattered off to defend the various High-Rank Black Ink Nests, leaving him all alone.

The Territory Lord was in anguish. He felt as if nothing had gone right for him ever since he walked out of the Primordial Heavens Source Grand Restriction.

In the next instant, Yang Kai appeared in front of the injured Territory Lord and his Azure Dragon Spear pierced straight into the latter’s head.

Yang Kai had been prepared to use a Soul Rending Thorn as he was not in a situation to waste much time. Not only would the Royal Lord return at any moment now, but there were also a large number of Territory Lords in the No-Return Pass eager to kill him.

He had to kill this Territory Lord at once before fleeing.

However, even as his Azure Dragon Spear pierced through the top of the Territory Lord’s head, the Territory Lord did not react at all. Yang Kai deduced that it had to be because his opponent’s injuries were too severe, which saved him the need to use a Soul Rending Thorn.

By the time a group of Territory Lords rushed back to this place, there was nothing but a headless corpse with black blood spurting out. These Territory Lords were crushed by what they saw. They were overcome with a crippling sense of humiliation and felt extremely despondent.

It was not just them as all the other Territory Lords felt the same.

Once again, scores of Divine Senses surged out from the No-Return Pass, guarding against Yang Kai, but they no longer detected any trace of that Human.

After a half cup of tea’s time, the Royal Lord who had given chase earlier finally returned, and the Territory Lords who had been in a heightened state of anxiety the whole time could finally relax.

The Royal Lord naturally saw that something happened at the No-Return Pass, as it had not been in this state when he left. His eyes swept over the place and he quickly assessed the damage.

Two more High-Rank Black Ink Nests had been destroyed, and a Territory Lord had been killed as well!

He did figure out that Yang Kai lured him away on purpose, so he knew that there would be another attack on the No-Return Pass, but he still could not accept such an outcome. Clenching his jaw, he roared, “Search everywhere! I don’t care how many sacrifices need to be made, just find me that Human! I must shred his corpse into ten thousand pieces!”

With the order given, Black Ink Clan squads began charging out of the No-Return Pass, heading out in all directions towards the Black Ink Battlefield. Even the majority of the Territory Lords were deployed as well.

Most of the Territory Lords who were injured wanted to bemoan their fate. They retreated from the 3,000 Worlds because they needed to recuperate here, yet this was what they were faced with now. Not only did they not get to recover from their injuries, but they even had to risk their lives in a search for an Eighth-Order Open Heaven Realm Master.

They would have just stayed behind in the 3,000 Worlds if they had known that this would be the case.

Still, seeing that even the Royal Lord was actively guarding the No-Return Pass instead of returning to his Black Ink Nest to recover, none of them dared to voice their complaints and simply did as they were told.

By now, Yang Kai had already fled far away. He was aware that after everything he did, the No-Return Pass would become heavily guarded, and a great number of the Black Ink Clansmen would come looking for him.

He did not mind seizing this chance to kill off a few more Black Ink Clansmen, but right now, it was more important for him to tend to his injuries.

Thus, he continued fleeing at full speed for half a month before he finally located a dead Universe World deep within the Black Ink Battlefield. He made his way into it and opened a temporary cave mansion for himself.

After setting up a series of simple arrays to conceal his aura, Yang Kai finally felt at ease enough to sit down.

Even though Yang Kai sorely wished to destroy every single one of the High-Rank Black Ink Nests, he knew that was not a very realistic thought, unless he could somehow become a Ninth-Order Open Heaven Realm Master.

As someone only in the Eighth Order, if he attacked one too many times, it was bound to backfire on him at some point and he would fail miserably at his goal; after all, if one walked by the river frequently enough, their shoes would eventually get wet.

His first strike had been the most rewarding as the Black Ink Clan had been taken by surprise.

All in all, Yang Kai had destroyed five High-Rank Black Ink Nests and killed two Innate Territory Lords, so he was pretty satisfied with the results of his efforts.

It would not be this easy for him to launch another attack.

In fact, Yang Kai could not even be certain whether or not he would have the chance to take action again.