Martial Peak

Chapter 5154 – Two Rising Stars

Translator: Silavin & Pia

Translation Checker: PewPewLazerGun

Editor and Proofreader: Leo of Zion Mountain & Dhael Ligerkeys

Dawn also had a disciple from Asura Cave Heaven, he was just in the Sixth-Order Open Heaven Realm though. So, when fighting against the Black Ink Clan Army, he could only remain inside Dawning Light and control the various Arrays to kill the enemy. He had no chance to leave the Warship, which caused him to complain to Yang Kai many times.

It was only when the forward base started ‘hunting’ that he finally got the chance to directly fight against those scattered Black Ink Clansmen. It was the only time when someone like him, who was in the Sixth-Order Open Heaven Realm, could finally come out and fight.

In fact, it was when Dawn was out hunting that he was the happiest. He would not hesitate to put himself in danger just to be able to kill off his enemies. In fact, after each hunt, he would always be covered in blood and leak out an incomparable murderous intent. It was not a stretch to say that he was a madman when it came to combat.

Even so, Yang Kai was relieved that his subordinate was a brave fighter. It was just that, this brave fighter was also somewhat prickly.

Yang Kai still liked those from Asura Cave Heaven though. He did not mind youngsters being arrogant, as long as they had the ability to back it up.

Grandmaster Ma Fan whispered, “This kid is the most outstanding genius in his generation from Asura Cave Heaven. He advanced to the Emperor Realm while he was around 100 years old. He then managed to advance to the Seventh-Order after less than 20 years. Right now, he should be somewhere around 200. His future is many times better than yours. He’s also the first person from the Star Boundary to advance directly to the Seventh-Order Open Heaven Realm and is known as one of the Star Boundary’s Two Rising Stars. The other being your Disciple, Zhao Ya. On the day he advanced to the Open Heaven Realm, the top Masters of the various Cave Heavens and Paradises stationed in the Star Boundary all rejoiced and celebrated; after all, his successful breakthrough proved once and for all that the Star Boundary was worthy of its status as the Open Heaven Realm Cradle.”

Yang Kai nodded silently and did some quick calculations. When Zhang Zhou was practicing in the Star Boundary, he had already come to Black Ink Battlefield. So, it was not strange for him to have never heard of such an outstanding person before.

“What would Junior Brother like to know?” Yang Kai asked with a smile.

Zhang Zhou said, “As long as it’s about the crusade, anything is fine.”

Looking around, Yang Kai could see many curious eyes. Although some of the Sixth-Order and Seventh-Order Masters standing here were older than him, on the Black Ink Battlefield, age did not matter. He was a well-regarded Senior to them.

Yang Kai then began talking about the battle that nearly wiped out the Black Ink Clan Army, and many things about the crusade. As they listened, the newcomers could feel their blood boiling. They could not wait to enter the battlefield and kill tens of millions of Black Ink Clansmen, to make it feel like all the time they spent cultivating had been worthwhile.

Yang Kai looked at them with interest. He didn’t want to throw cold water on them as it was normal for new recruits to be eager to kill the enemy and accomplish meritorious deeds. It was only after one had actually dealt with Black Ink Clan a few times that they could appreciate the hardships involved in each battle.

There were 1,500 people in this group of reinforcements, so it took almost two hours to register everyone. Once they were all registered, Yang Kai led them to the Universe Array of Blue Sky Pass, and asked them to leave their Imprints on it. This was essential; after all, they might have to use the Universe Array here to escape in the future.

Then, someone from the Pill Hall came and took away several of the Alchemists.

For Alchemists, they did not need to be posted at the forward base, considering Spirit Pills could be refined in Blue Sky Pass and then sent to the front lines which would ensure the safety of the Alchemists.

Currently, the main task of the Pill Hall was to refine more Purifying Black Ink Pills. The consumption of this pill was extraordinarily high; after all, when each Squad went out on a mission, they needed to have at least one such pill on hand to prevent accidents. Previously, the Expeditionary Force could not go deeper into enemy territory because of two reasons. One, the resistance encountered was too strong, and two, the logistics could not keep up with the consumption. Especially the consumption of Purifying Black Ink Pill, which was particularly serious.

It could be said that 80% of what the Pill Hall was currently doing now was refining Purifying Black Ink Pills.

After this whole experience with the Expeditionary Force, it was believed that the Pill Halls in every Great Pass, would also shift their focus to refining more Purifying Black Ink Pills in the future. It was necessary to build up a reserve for any potential Expeditionary Force and to simply have the capital to push back against the Black Ink Clan.

After a few days in Blue Sky Pass, the newcomers were all set.

In order to successfully send these 1,500 people to the forward base, Zhong Liang specially asked the War Materials Hall to bring out a massive ship.

This ship had 10 floors and was over 100 metres tall while stretching more than 500 metres in length. It was an imposing sight to behold.

The only downside was its combat capabilities. It had not yet reached the level of a Mobile Palace Artifact nor a Warship and was basically useless in a fight against the Black Ink Clan. It was only useful as a large-scale transport.

Before leaving, Zhong Liang and Shen Tu Mo, who stayed behind at Blue Sky Pass, showed up together and explained a few things to the newcomers.

All the new recruits were at least in the Sixth-Order; thus, they moved like the wind, and soon, all of them had boarded the large ship.

Zhong Liang turned to look at Yang Kai, “It’s all up to you now.”

“Sir, rest assured, they will all be sent to the forward base without a single one missing.”

In terms of safety, Yang Kai need not worry about that. Although there might still be some scattered Black Ink Clansmen along the way, these newcomers were not weak and all of them were extremely eager to fight, as though they could not wait to encounter the Black Ink Clan. They also wanted to see if the so-called Black Ink Clansmen had three heads and six arms.

Even if they did not meet a Black Ink Clansman along the way though, it would still be fine. In fact, if they did meet one, it just meant that the Black Ink Clansman’s luck had run out.

With how much combat power was concentrated in this one ship, there was no way a Territory Lord would have sat back in their domain and let them pass by; however, all Territory Lords were currently huddled around the Royal City to protect it. Furthermore, with the Eighth-Order Open Heaven Realm Masters watching them, how could they possibly show up so deep within enemy territory?

Even so, Yang Kai still reminded the newcomers to be cautious and that they must remain vigilant.

The large ship set sail, and Yang Kai arranged for the newcomers to take turns in managing the Grand Array to deliver power to the large ship. They would do so while he personally concentrated on controlling the direction the ship was headed.

The deck was full of people, all of them were looking around curiously, with their Divine Senses scanning the surroundings, presumably looking for any hidden enemies nearby.

However, to their disappointment, they did not see any Black Ink Clansmen even a month after they left Blue Sky Pass.

A little over a month later, they arrived at the first transit Universe Array.

There was an Eighth-Order Open Heaven Realm Master and a Battalion stationed here, guarding the Universe Array all year round. Naturally, there were also many Spirit Arrays around the Universe Array, some for protection, while others were to conceal its presence. In fact, if one did not know its location in advance, they probably would never have been able to find the Universe Array here, even if they were standing right next to it.

After verifying their identities and the intention for their visit, the large ship was allowed to pass through the various barriers. Soon, the newcomers went to the Universe Array and one by one left their Imprints behind before the ship set off again.

This location was originally occupied by the Black Ink Clan. In the past, it would have been impossible for the soldiers of Blue Sky Pass to dive this deep into enemy territory; however after the crusade, the Black Ink Clan’s domain was greatly diminished and this region now fell under the control of Blue Sky Pass.

Currently, this far out from Blue Sky Pass, it was entirely possible to encounter scattered Black Ink Clansmen. The Expeditionary Force had moved in a straight line, without clearing out all the enemies to the sides of the bridgehead. Although many Squads were currently out hunting these remnants with the goal of cleaning up all Black Ink Clansmen in the area, there would always be some fish that slipped through the net.

Half a month after they passed by the first transit Universe Array, the newcomers finally encountered some Black Ink Clansmen.

It was just a group of a few dozen enemies without even a Feudal Lord around.

With Yang Kai’s consent, hundreds of newcomers rushed out and slaughtered the dozens of Black Ink Clansmen.

The battle ended as quickly as it broke out. Even the weakest of the newcomers was in the Sixth-Order Open Heaven Realm, and there was no shortage of those in the Seventh-Order; thus, how could such a small and weak team of Black Ink Clansmen possibly be their opponent? After a dozen breaths of time, they were all slaughtered. It was so quick that most newcomers only had the time to take a look at what those Black Ink Clansmen looked like, without the opportunity to make any moves at all.

It was Zhang Zhou who killed the most. He killed three Black Ink Clansmen by himself, but he was left very dissatisfied. These Black Ink Clansmen were too weak. They were at most equivalent to cultivators in the Fifth-Order Open Heaven Realm. With him being in the Seventh-Order, he was basically playing with toddlers.

Yang Kai had no intention of extending time on the road; after all, the newcomers would be quickly assigned to various Squads when they reached the forward base, and they would soon get used to fighting against the Black Ink Clan.

Although he did not intend to dally, the Black Ink Clan did take notice of the huge ship they were on; after all, it was too conspicuous to miss. Thus, after passing the first Universe Array, they would often encounter some scattered Black Ink Clan groups. The largest groups had hundreds of enemies, but without at least one Feudal Lord, these Black Ink Clan groups were just like the passing wind. Now, the newcomers were all standing on the deck, looking forward to seeing more, to have an opportunity to kill more Black Ink Clansmen.

As he approached the second Universe Array, Yang Kai suddenly frowned and looked in a particular direction.

At that location, there seemed to be a lot of Black Ink Clansmen gathering. Yang Kai even detected a Feudal Lord among them.

They were very close to the Universe Array, and although there was an Eighth-Order Open Heaven Realm Master and a Battalion assigned to protect this location, due to the importance of this place, they were only responsible for protecting the Spirit Array. They were not tasked to clean up the surrounding Black Ink Clansmen.

If the large ship of newcomers were to approach the Universe Array, the Black Ink Clan might discover its location.

With that in mind, Yang Kai changed their heading slightly, sailing straight for where the Black Ink Clansmen were gathering.

Half an hour later, a battle broke out, and the newcomers, as always, rushed out with their blood boiling.

There were a lot of Black Ink Clansmen gathered, but still fewer than the newcomers themselves. In that chaotic battle, many Black Ink Clansmen were wounded if not killed, and even the Feudal Lord was killed by Zhang Zhou.

Zhang Zhou had advanced to the Seventh-Order not long ago and still needed to consolidate his cultivation. Even so, the Feudal Lord was still not his opponent, which went to show how powerful the cultivators from Asura Cave Heaven were.

Yang Kai had found out that this guy’s polite appearance was just a disguise. He was no different from any other Asura Cave Heaven disciple he met in battle, bloodthirsty and vicious.

Zhang Zhou was the last to return, covered in fresh black blood with his murderous aura as strong as ever. The others on board looked at him in awe.

Yang Kai checked on him, and a strange light flashed in his eyes, “Junior Brother, are you injured?”

Zhang Zhou slowly shook his head, “Senior Brother, it’s just a small scratch. It’s no big deal.”

Yang Kai nodded and earnestly explained, “Battles against the Black Ink Clan must not be taken lightly. Perhaps they are not as powerful as you, but they have their unique abilities.”

Zhang Zhou nodded and said, “I understand.”

Yang Kai smiled and said, “In that case, rest.”

Zhang Zhou silently sat cross-legged.

After making sure there were no other Black Ink Clansmen around, Yang Kai sailed the large ship towards the Universe Array.

Having experienced this once before, this time, without Yang Kai needing to give any orders, everyone already knew what to do and moved to leave their Imprints the Universe Array before setting off again.