Martial Peak
chapter-5521

While the rest carried on with their conversation, Ou Yang Lie was the only one who kept glancing behind him with a brooding expression wondering, [What the hell is that Brat up to?]

The others might not be aware of how formidable Yang Kai was in combat, but the same could not be said for Ou Yang Lie.

Of all the Eighth-Order Open Heaven Realm Masters here in Profound Nether Territory, he was the one who was most familiar with Yang Kai as they had fought alongside each other for many years in the Great Evolution Army. Yang Kai was also the reason why he managed to make it out of the Black Ink Battlefield and arrive at the Barren Territory.

Of course, Yang Kai would not have come out of the battle unscathed after slaughtering three Innate Territory Lords in such a short amount of time, so Ou Yang Lie did not even need to check to understand he had used his Soul Rending Thorns.

Injuries in battle were unavoidable, but nevertheless, Ou Yang Lie did not believe that Yang Kai’s wounds were as severe as they seemed to be. He had witnessed just how indomitable Yang Kai had been when they stormed the No-Return Pass; however, Yang Kai’s aura was currently as frail as a candle’s flame amid a terrifying storm. It was almost as if he would die at any moment.

[Is he really that wounded?]

Ou Yang Lie threw a glance in that direction once more and his eyes flashed perceptively as a thought occurred to him. Soon, he chuckled and snickered, “Crafty brat.”

“What did you say?” Wei Jun Yang turned to Ou Yang Lie.

“It’s nothing,” Ou Yang Lie slowly shook his head. Although he deduced that something mischievous was afoot, he was not about to expose it as this involved someone else’s private affairs. If he did, then he would be offending Yang Kai for no reason.

Ou Yang Lie was certain. [That Brat’s injured alright, but his injuries are definitely not that severe.]

Since Ou Yang Lie did not wish to elaborate, Wei Jun Yang did not try to pry it out of him, “Everyone fought hard in this battle. Let’s return and tend to our injuries first so that we can return to our peak as soon as possible, lest the Black Ink Clan starts getting ideas again.”

Everyone else nodded in agreement.

The Profound Nether Territory Army suffered considerable casualties in this battle, including the loss of two Eighth-Order Masters. Even though three Territory Lords had been killed as well, there were more Territory Lords than Eighth-Order Open Heaven Realm Masters to begin with.

The injuries that Ou Yang Lie, Wei Jun Yang, and the others suffered were fairly serious, so it was true that they needed to hurry up and tend to their wounds.

However, before they moved away, a figure fell from the sky and landed in front of them before cupping his fist as he announced, “Sirs, the Divine Spirits’ reinforcement team has arrived!”

Ou Yang Lie could not resist snapping, “What excellent timing!”

What was the point if the Divine Spirits only arrived when the battle was over? Were they here to help clean up the battlefield?

If they came earlier, the Profound Nether Army would not have suffered such heavy casualties.

Ou Yang Lie could not be blamed for feeling resentful while the other Eighth-Order Open Heaven Realm Masters felt the same to varying degrees. There had been no sign of these Divine Spirits earlier when the battle was at its fiercest and the Profound Nether Army was on the verge of defeat. That was the time when they needed reinforcements the most. Fortunately, Yang Kai had arrived and managed to drive the Black Ink Clan back with his unstoppable strength. Yet, it was only now that the Divine Spirits showed up.

However, though they were dissatisfied, they knew the situation could not be helped. There were only so many Divine Spirits and the Human Race needed all the help they could get on all the different battlefields. The Divine Spirits who had to rush everywhere to offer assistance were under a lot of pressure too.

Without the support of the Divine Spirits, at least two or three of the Humans’ current frontline Great Territories would have been lost.

The Divine Spirits had contributed greatly to the Human Race’s success in holding off the Black Ink Clan.

Wei Jun Yang sighed, “They’re having a hard time too, Brother Ou Yang, so let’s not mention such things.”

“I know,” Ou Yang Lie huffed.

No one was having it easy. They were all pitifully fighting in a bid for survival.

He was just grumbling for the sake of it.

Even under these circumstances, while the Divine Spirits might have been late, they would not have been too late. If Yang Kai had not shown up, the Profound Nether Army would likely still be stretched thin and the risk of defeat would be looming over their heads right now. The Divine Spirits’ arrival would surely have provided them with much-needed help, and if the Divine Spirits were powerful enough, the Profound Nether Army might even manage to turn things around and score a victory.

“Bring them over,” Wei Jun Yang instructed.

The messenger nodded quickly and did as he was instructed.

Soon, a group of 50 or so Divine Spirits who did not bother reining in their imposing presence approached. All the soldiers nearby backed away from the heavy presence of these Divine Spirits.

Ou Yang Lie frowned as he exchanged looks with Wei Jun Yang, both thinking the same thing, [It’s them.]

Previously, Wei Jun Yang said that the Supreme Headquarters was sending a team of Divine Spirits over as reinforcements. Ou Yang Lie had asked if these Divine Spirits were the ones who came from the Grand Ancient Ruins Boundary, but Wei Jun Yang did not know the answer.

It was those at the Supreme Headquarters who made the arrangements; thus, he had no say in the matter.

From the looks of it, the Divine Spirits were indeed the ones from the Grand Ancient Ruins Boundary.

It was easy enough to tell. Although these Divine Spirits had a domineering presence, they were basically all on par with Seventh-Order Open Heaven Realm Masters in terms of strength. Only a few of them were on par with Eighth-Order Open Heaven Realm Masters. Furthermore, only these Divine Spirits would behave this arrogantly.

All the Divine Spirits who sided with the Human Race came from one of three places. They were either from the No-Return Pass, Divine Spirit Ancestral Land, or Grand Ancient Ruins Boundary.

Overall, the Divine Spirits from the Grand Ancient Ruins Boundary were weaker than those from the No-Return Pass and the Ancestral Land. It was not because they were weaker by nature, but they had only just left the Grand Ancient Ruins Boundary, so they had yet to fully adapt to the Principles of the 3,000 Worlds, meaning their strength was somewhat suppressed.

This had been the case with Zhu Jiu Yin back then. Her true strength had been on par with an Eighth-Order Open Heaven Realm Master, but once Yang Kai brought her out of the Grand Ancient Ruins Boundary, it dropped to that of a Seventh-Order Open Heaven Realm Master and it took her many years before she returned to her peak.

Thus, upon seeing that these Divine Spirits mostly had Seventh-Order Open Heaven Realm cultivations, Ou Yang Lie and the others easily figured out where they were from.

They belonged to the group of Divine Spirits who came out of the Grand Ancient Ruins Boundary, but this was not all of them.

These Divine Spirits were not all that reliable. When they first arrived at the Star Boundary after leaving the Grand Ancient Ruins Boundary, they caused quite a bit of trouble. It was Fu Guang of the Dragon Clan who had to step up and teach them a harsh lesson before they reined themselves in.

Many unverifiable rumours regarding these Divine Spirits circulated among the Eighth-Order Open Heaven Realm Masters…

Apparently, they were cowardly in the face of death and did not do their best in the battle against the Black Ink Clan. Even though they now allowed the Supreme Headquarters to send them out as reinforcements to various frontlines, somehow, they often did things that bungled the Human Race’s chances of winning the battle.

Those at the Supreme Headquarters would not choose to dispatch these Divine Spirits unless absolutely necessary.

In fact, they considered splitting up the Divine Spirits from the Grand Ancient Ruins Boundary and assigning them to the other Divine Spirit teams, but in the end, they could not do so as these Divine Spirits refused to be separated. If the Supreme Headquarters tried to force the issue, then it would only backfire.

Divine Dragon Fu Guang was now recuperating in seclusion, so there was no one around who could exert authority over these unruly Divine Spirits.

Furthermore, they were related to Yang Kai, so even Xiang Shan and Mi Jing Lun did not want to push too hard when dealing with them.

The reinforcements came in the form of roughly 50 Divine Spirits and one Seventh-Order Human Master.

As a few unpleasant events had happened in the past, a Human Master was now assigned to accompany the Divine Spirits from the Grand Ancient Ruins Boundary whenever they were sent into battle. The Human’s role was ostensibly to lead the way as the Divine Spirits were unfamiliar with the 3,000 Worlds, but in reality, their job was there to keep an eye on them. Both sides were fully aware of this.

No one knew which Cave Heaven or Paradise this Seventh-Order Master was from, but as he came over and looked around, his expression was as dark as night.

Once he arrived in front of Wei Jun Yang and the others, he bowed and greeted, “Supreme Headquarters Yu Zhen greets Sirs.”

Wei Jung Yang smiled and reached out to raise him from the bow before nodding lightly at the Eighth-Order Divine Spirits who stood in front, “Many thanks for making the effort to come here.”

Of the Divine Spirits who took the lead, the one who took the form of a middle-aged man chuckled, “It was no effort at all. Rather… Did the battle here end so quickly? I thought you Humans were at risk of being overwhelmed?”

“An unexpected incident occurred and we managed to repel the Black Ink Clan,” Wei Jun Yang replied, but he showed no inclination of sharing in further detail.

Naturally, the Divine Spirit did not bother asking either.

“Oh,” the middle-aged man said in acknowledgement before turning to Yu Zhen, “Since there’s nothing left to do here, does this mean we can go back now?”

Yu Zhen kept quiet, but his expression was icy.

By now, everyone else could tell that Yu Zhen did not get along with these Divine Spirits; however, outsiders would not know what caused the rift between them.

Still, it was rather hard to think favourably of the Divine Spirits from the Grand Ancient Ruins Boundary. They were different from the Divine Spirits from the Ancestral Land and the No-Return Pass. It would have been more surprising if the Humans heard that Yu Zhen, the Seventh-Order Master who was supposed to keep an eye on these Divine Spirits, had gotten along with them. Perhaps they had shunned him during the journey over here.

“We came all the way here for nothing!” A young man among the group of Divine Spirits grumbled in dissatisfaction, “What a waste of all our efforts to rush over as quickly as possible!”

“The Black Ink Clan here are so weak. They should’ve held out a few more days.”

“Stop trying to talk big, Hou Dou. If you really had to fight against the Black Ink Clan, you might end up peeing your pants. Everyone knows you’re a coward who’s afraid to die.”

A burst of laughter rang out.

The Divine Spirit named Hou Dou immediately retorted, “As if you’re any better, Yan Mo! During the last battle, you were wailing your head off and begging for mercy when that Territory Lord chased after you.”

Yan Mo turned bright red, “That was a Territory Lord! He’s even stronger than an Eighth-Order Human. I haven’t fully restored my strength yet, you know. Once that happens, why would I need to fear a Territory Lord?”

The Divine Spirits thus continued bickering among themselves.

Wei Jun Yang and the others frowned.

They had fought alongside many Divine Spirits during the battle at the No-Return Pass, and even though those Divine Spirits were just as haughty and prideful, always looking down on the Humans, when it came to actually fighting, they were reliable comrades-in-arms whose strength in combat could not be denied.

This was even the case with the Dragon and Phoenix Clans.

As for the Divine Spirits in front of them now… Were they nothing more than a farce? They were standing on the frontlines of a battlefield where the Human Race had suffered countless losses during the earlier battle, and even more of them were injured, and yet, these Divine Spirits turned it into a place where they bickered over who was the bravest.

Still, despite their discontent, Wei Jun Yang and the others could not make any comments as these Divine Spirits had come here as reinforcements.

Yu Zhen seemed to be accustomed to the Divine Spirits’ bickering so he just turned to Wei Jun Yang and asked, “Sirs, is there a need for us to stay here in Profound Nether Territory in case the Black Ink Clan mounts a counterattack?”

Wei Jun Yang glanced in the direction where Yang Kai was resting and shook his head, “That won’t be necessary. The Black Ink Clan suffered significant casualties this time around so they most likely won’t be coming back any time soon.”

[Even if they did, with him around, it would not be hard to defend Profound Nether Territory. The other battlefields might have a greater need for reinforcements.]

“Did we achieve a sweeping victory here?” Yu Zhen exclaimed in surprise.

This was something that had not happened in a very long time. Though the Human Race emerged victorious now and then throughout the various battlefields, those were generally hard-fought wins. After all, if they wanted to force the stronger and numerically superior Black Ink Clan into retreat, they would have to pay a heavy price in the process.