Martial Peak
chapter-5660

Yang Kai brought just over 100 Divine Spirits from the Grand Ancient Ruins Boundary; however, there were only about 60 of them standing in front of him today.

A 40% casualty rate over 3,000 years of fierce battles was by no means small. Each of the Divine Spirits was more powerful than the average Human Race Master in the same equivalent Order, so one could imagine how perilous the war had been.

Although there were not many of them, these Divine Spirits had already constituted an extremely powerful force as many were comparable to an Eighth-Order Open Heaven Realm Master.

Their Ancestors were imprisoned for various reasons in the Grand Ancient Ruins Boundary by the Old Tree. In the special environment of the Grand Ancient Ruins Boundary, it was difficult for their Bloodline to grow as powerful as it could be, even if their bloodline was pure.

For example, Zhu Jiu Yin, who Yang Kai brought out of the Grand Ancient Ruins Boundary all those years ago, was as strong, if not stronger, than any Eighth-Order Human Master, but due to the suppression in the Grand Ancient Ruins Boundary, she had only been able to exert the strength of a Low-Rank Open Heaven Realm Master while trapped there. It was not until she left the Grand Ancient Ruins Boundary that she began to restore her true strength in the Void Land.

These dozens of Divine Spirits had left the Grand Ancient Ruins Boundary for almost 3,000 years and had already adapted naturally to the World Principles of the outside world.

Almost 80% of them were Eighth-Order, while the remaining 20% were Seventh-Order. Among the Eighth-Order Divine Spirits, there were several whose aura was particularly strong, indicating that if there was enough opportunity for them, they could reach the Ninth-Order in the future, which was the peak of the Universe.

After so many years of constant battling, these Divine Spirits were very intimidating, with their cold murderous intent lingering about their bodies, mixed with the innate might of Divine Spirits.

As they stood here, the Artifact Refiners and Array Masters who were busy working on the Suppressing Black Ink Fortress tried their best to keep their distances.

Unfortunately for these Divine Spirits, the refinement of their Bloodline became increasingly difficult the higher they climbed. It was no longer like during the Primordial Era when the Heavenly Way favoured the Divine Spirits, resulting in fewer of them being able to ever advance to the Ninth Order.

Dragon Clan’s Fu Guang had been cultivating in the Dragon Pool for so many years, but in the end, it was only with Yang Kai’s help that he could become a Divine Dragon.

As for the Phoenix Clan, none of them had risen to the Divine Rank since the fall of the previous Phoenix Clan Leader during the Barren Territory War. The refinement of one’s Bloodline was not just a matter of dedication and effort, but also highly dependent on personal inheritance. No matter how long one lived, if their inheritance was insufficient, it would be useless.

Yang Kai glanced at all the Divine Spirits and suddenly cupped his fist and bowed appreciatively, “Many thanks for all your hard work and sacrifice.”

The solemn atmosphere suddenly eased, and a Divine Spirit smiled and said, “This is our duty, Sir.”

Yang Kai glanced at the Divine Spirit who spoke, nodded lightly, and said with a smile, “When I brought you all out of the Grand Ancient Ruins Boundary, I made a Bloodline Oath with you for 3,000 years, and now that time has basically passed…”

Upon saying so, Yang Kai reached up his fingers and began to count.

A voice from below softly said, “There are 79 years to go before the full 3,000 is up.”

A chorus of voices said, “Yes, yes, yes!”

Yang Kai looked up and chuckled, “All of you remember so clearly.”

The Divine Spirits smiled. How could they not remember this as it was related to their freedom.

Yang Kai put his hands behind his back and said, “When I asked you to make that Great Oath, I said that I would set you free after the expiration of the agreement 3,000 years later. I have no intention of breaking my word; however, all of you must know the situation that we are in, so I would like to ask all of you now. After the expiration of the 3,000-year Great Oath, where do you intend to go?

The Divine Spirits exchanged looks with each other and every one of them could see the indecision in each other’s eyes.

When they came out of the Grand Ancient Ruins Boundary, they did not know the situation in the outside world was like this, but they were no longer ignorant like back then.

Now, when the 3,000-year agreement was ending, where could they go even when they were free?

A Divine Spirit with an Ox head said, “Sir, now that all life is under threat by the Black Ink Clan, we have nowhere else to go. I’m afraid we can only fight alongside the Human Race to drive out the enemy.”

Yang Kai looked at the Divine Spirit and was surprised that it was Zhu Jian. He thought that these Divine Spirits could not wait to get far away from the battlefields after they regained their freedom. He did not expect them to be so righteous.

He was relieved and asked, “Do all of you feel the same way?”

A Divine Spirit yelled, “We’re already riding this pirate ship, how can we get off now?”

This caused many Divine Spirits to roar in laughter.

Yang Kai nodded and said, “It is a blessing for my people, and all people, that you think this way. I, Yang Kai, hereby swear by my Source and Bloodline that in my lifetime, I will ruthlessly kill the Black Ink Clan and eliminate them from this Universe. When peace is finally restored, I will drink and celebrate with all of you. When that happens, you will be favoured by the Heavens, and perhaps restore the glory of your Ancestors!”

At the end of his sentence, a golden illusory phantom flickered behind Yang Kai, which was a manifestation of his Source Great Oath.

All the Divine Spirits were moved. Zhu Jian immediately cupped his fist and said, “We are willing to serve, Sir!”

The Divine Spirit also shouted in unison, “We are willing to serve!”

“Excellent!” Yang Kai nodded with satisfaction, “I have asked all of you to come here because I have a task for you. This matter is of utmost importance and victory or defeat in this war will depend on it, so you must think carefully before accepting it.”

Zhu Jian immediately asked curiously, “Sir, what task is it?”

Yang Kai smiled profoundly and said, “There is no hurry. We still have to wait for the Human side to finish its arrangements. When the time comes, I will send you to a place. I will explain in detail when the Humans are ready.”

The Divine Spirits did not ask any more questions and Yang Kai allowed them to disperse and find a place to rest, away from the still-busy Artifact Refiners and Array Masters.

The Divine Spirits did not respect ordinary Humans as they were more intimidating and powerful; however, Yang Kai was no ordinary Human. Technically speaking, he was now a powerful Ancient Dragon, who was just one step away from becoming a Divine Dragon.

Days later, 6,000 soldiers finally arrived at the Suppressing Black Ink Fortress. These 6,000 soldiers included all sorts of talents and were enough to operate the Suppressing Black Ink Fortress like a real Great Pass.

Mi Jing Lun personally drafted these soldiers from across all the various battlefields. The 6,000 battle-harden veterans gathered in a large courtyard and their combined aura was truly awe-inspiring.

The cultivation of each of these soldiers was no less than the Sixth-Order Open Heaven Realm, with many Seventh and Eighth-Order Masters among them. Each one of them was battle-tested and had killed many Black Ink Clansmen on the battlefield.

They suddenly received the transfer order from the Supreme Headquarters and were brought here, so none of them knew what was happening and did not know what they should do.

At the very least, they could see the enormous Suppressing Black Ink Fortress; thus, it was clear that something big was going to happen and all of them looked forward to it.

Yang Kai stood in front of the 6,000 men and women and began to look at them in detail, soon noticing many familiar faces in the crowd.

Yu Ru Meng, Su Yan, Shan Qing Luo, Xue Yue, Ji Yao… His Wives were all here except for Xia Ning Chang who had been stationed at the rear because of her mastery over the Dao of Alchemy.

Yang Xiao Yang Xue, Zhao Ye Bai, Zhao Ya, Xu Yi… all of whom were close to him, were also there.

Yang Kai even saw Gu Pan, whom he had not seen for many years, and Zhang Ruo Xi beside her, staring back at him with glittering eyes.

The moment he saw Zhang Ruo Xi, Yang Kai’s heart suddenly began to race. He felt a strange impulse but was not sure what it was about.

Yang Kai did not think much about it though and just quietly said to Mi Jing Lun, “Many thanks, Senior Brother Mi.”

It was obviously Mi Jing Lun’s idea to transfer his Wives, Yang Xiao and his Sister here. It was not so much as to take care of the people close to Yang Kai, but rather because the Black Ink Clan was now targeting them. Once they appeared on the battlefield, they were always swarmed by the Black Ink Clan. If it was not for the fact that some of them were proficient in the Dao of Space, they would have been in deep trouble.

“There is no need to thank me,” Mi Jing Lun, whose insight was exceptionally keen, knew what Yang Kai meant, “They are all heroes and this is the right time for them to contribute. Besides, the situation there might be even more dangerous than on the battlefield here.”

While the two of them were talking, somewhere below within the crowd, Yang Xiao said to Yang Xue, “Little Aunt, what’s wrong with that Big Head Mi? Our whole Squad has been transferred over, so why did he leave Old Fang out? Although Old Fang is a bit laidback, he is very powerful. Hey, why don’t you ask Adoptive Father to transfer Old Fang over?”

Over the years, Yang Xiao and the others had made a big name for themselves. Since the Black Ink Clan knew about his relationship with Yang Xue and Yang Kai, they had targeted them repeatedly. It was Fang Tian Ci who used his mastery over the Dao of Space to lead them out of danger many times.

The years of working together resulted in them bonding strongly with each other. Yang Xiao had high regards for Fang Tian Ci, but unfortunately, for reasons unknown, Mi Jing Lun had transferred all of them here except for Fang Tian Ci!

They did not know why Big Head Mi had seemingly singled out Old Fang, but Yang Xiao was not happy about it. Now, he was encouraging Yang Xue to go to Yang Kai to file an official complaint.

Yang Xue would naturally not want Fang Tian Ci to be excluded as he had helped them a lot of times before. This time, there was no telling what kind of missions they were being sent on, but from the lineup gathered here and the massive fortress in front of them, it was obviously going to be a task fraught with dangers. They would also be much safer with Fang Tian Ci by their side.

Yang Xue faintly nodded and replied, “En, I’ll talk to Big Brother when I find a chance.”

In front of the square, Mi Jing Lun said “Junior Brother Yang, I found an interesting person when I was making the transfers. This person was originally in the same Squad as Yang Xiao and Yang Xue. He is also an Eighth-Order Open Heaven Realm Master with great strength and is also highly proficient in the Dao of Space. Apparently, he came from your Small Universe, but he came to me and said that he could not accept this transfer. I asked him for the reason, but he was unable to explain clearly. He only told me to come and tell you about this.”

Yang Kai seemed to know what happened and asked, “Was his name Fang Tian Ci?”

Mi Jing Lun nodded and replied, “That’s him.”

Yang Kai said, “I have a critical task for him, so I can’t afford to send him to that place.”

Mi Jing Lun was relieved and said, “Since it’s Junior Brother’s arrangement, then I see no problems with it.”