Martial Peak

Chapter 5333, It’s the Core

Translator: Silavin & Ashish

Translation Checker: PewPewLazerGun

Editor and Proofreader: Leo of Zion Mountain & Dhael Ligerkeys

Although 30,000 years had passed, the Identity Token of the various Great Passes of the Human Race hadn’t changed much. That’s why, when Yang Kai saw this Identity Token, he knew that it belonged to a Seventh-Order Open Heaven Realm Master.

Because he also had such a token.

The Identity Token contained information about the other party, but unfortunately, even this information had become incomplete under the erosion of time. All Yang Kai could make out was his surname and middle name, which was Zhao and Yi respectively, as for the given name, he could not make it out.

It was truly a pity.

Countless people had sacrificed their lives on the Black Ink Battlefield, leaving only their names behind on the Monument of Heroes.

As for this Senior Zhao, he might not even be able to leave his full name behind.

This was quite a terrible era. Generation after generation, heroes of the 3,000 Worlds laid down their lives on the Black Ink Battlefield.

But it was quite a wonderful era too. Despite countless sacrifices, people kept stepping forward to take the place of the fallen, rising to fight one after another.

It was not that they were not afraid of death. They had finally reached the Open Heaven Realm after painstakingly cultivating for so many years and their lifespans were extremely long, so who wouldn’t want to live a little longer?

Be that as it may, people kept vehemently offering up everything they had for the sake of the Human Race. The peace of the 3,000 Worlds had been forged with the blood and lives of these heroes, despite more than 99% of the people there being completely unaware of the Black Ink Clan’s existence!

After bowing once more, Yang Kai put away the Space Ring and collected the remains of this Senior Zhao before turning around and flying away.

Finding his way back was a simple matter for him, and he quickly found the right direction and flew straight through the Void Crack.

A few days later, at Great Evolution Pass’ Space Array…

The soldiers on duty were staring at the Space Array with rapt attention. Not just them, but even Old Ancestor Xiao Xiao was waiting here.

It had been almost a year since Yang Kai had travelled to Wind and Cloud Pass using the Hyper Space Array. Soon after, Wind and Cloud Pass had sent a message to inform of the situation; therefore, Old Ancestor Xiao Xiao knew that Yang Kai was searching for Great Evolution Pass’ Core in the Void Crack right now. But whether or not he could find it, or even if Great Evolution Pass’ Core was really lost in the Void Crack, was still speculative.

All the Great Evolution Army could do now was wait.

At the same time, they also hoped that Yang Kai’s guess was correct; otherwise, the loss of the Core would be extremely detrimental to the upcoming crusade.

At some point, the Space Array suddenly began to hum and it lit up as a portal slowly appeared.

Old Ancestor Xiao Xiao, who was watching closely, suddenly narrowed her eyes. The soldiers on duty also hurriedly started moving to locate the source of the transmission.

But before they could figure out what was happening, a pair of hands suddenly emerged from the portal. A mysterious force surged out from those hands as they fiercely pulled apart from each other, forcefully tearing open the portal which had yet to fully take form.

The next moment, Yang Kai’s figure leapt out of the portal and breathed a long sigh of relief.

Although he was proficient in the Dao of Space, staying in the Void Crack for an extended period was anything but pleasant. The feeling of emptiness and chaos would make anyone feel anxious.

Sensing Old Ancestor Xiao Xiao’s, Yang Kai quickly walked towards her.

“Well?” Old Ancestor Xiao Xiao asked.

“I found something.”

While speaking, Yang Kai handed over the Space Ring to the Old Ancestor and at the same time took out Senior Zhao’s remains.

The Old Ancestor’s eyes turned slightly dim when she first laid eyes on the corpse. Only after a moment did she finally examine the contents of the Space Ring.

Soon, she too let out a long sigh of relief.

Seeing this, Yang Kai asked in a low voice, “Is it the Core?”

Xiao Xiao nodded her affirmation, “It’s the Core.”

Yang Kai was finally able to relax. He was really afraid that the white jade tree was not Great Evolution Pass’ Core. If it wasn’t, this trip would have been in vain.

“Is this the soldier who left Great Evolution Pass with the Core that day?” Old Ancestor Xiao Xiao asked, looking at the remains.

Yang Kai nodded, “Yes.”

Yang Kai hadn’t carefully examined the remains back in the Void Crack, but now that he had taken them out, he found that there was a huge wound on its back, deep enough to see bone. Even after so many years, it showed no signs of healing.

It was easy to imagine that when Great Evolution Pass was about to be breached, this man surnamed Zhao must have taken the Core and stepped into the Space Array, preparing to send it to Wind and Cloud Pass.

But the moment the Hyper Space Array was activated, the Black Ink Clan must have broken through. The soldiers there had to stop the Space Array from operating, which caused the transmission to go awry, and severely injured him in the process.

With the transmission cut off, Senior Zhao was lost in the Void Crack for countless years before finally succumbing to his injuries.

Before his death, he had made the utmost effort to place Great Evolution Pass’ Core into his Space Ring and remove its restrictions, entrusting the completion of his task to the later generations.

It could be said that if it weren’t for this Senior’s efforts, Yang Kai wouldn’t have been able to find the core so easily. This was a mission handed down 30,000 years ago.

“Bury him with full honours,” Old Ancestor Xiao Xiao ordered.

Yang Kai agreed with a nod, “Of course.”

Since the Core had been found, Yang Kai didn’t need to worry about the rest. Under the Old Ancestor’s charge, the Core was installed in Great Evolution Pass before she issued a general order. Immediately after, the auras of Eighth-Order Open Heaven Realm Masters appeared one after another inside Great Evolution Pass, gathering towards someplace.

…..

Every Great Pass had two extremely special places.

One was the Monument of Heroes, which recorded the names of generations of fallen heroes who died in battle.

The other was the cemetery, the final resting place of the fallen ancestors.

Every battle against the Black Ink Clan was extremely intense, and many had lost their lives in battle, leaving behind nothing but a name on the Monument of Heroes.

But there were still some who died with intact corpses. Their remains were collected by the survivors and buried in the cemetery.

To the soldiers of the Black Ink Battlefield, dying in battle was not the ideal outcome, but it was an acceptable one.

Every soldier who stepped onto the Black Ink Battlefield had the will to lay down their life if need be.

Even after generations of sacrifices, all the soldiers firmly believed that the Black Ink Clan would be exterminated one day, purging the enemy from the Black Ink Battlefield once and for all.

Great Evolution Pass’ cemetery didn’t have many remains of past heroes. 30,000 years ago, the Black Ink Clan had occupied Great Evolution Pass, and although the Monument of Heroes was left intact, the cemetery had to be rebuilt.

The previous cemetery had already been destroyed by the Black Ink Clan. To refine the enormous throne of bones for the Royal Lord, the Black Ink Clan had not only collected the remains of the Human Race Masters from the battlefield, but even the ones buried in the cemetery, which finally led to the creation of the throne of bones for Great Evolution Theatre’s Royal Lord.

At present, this throne had already been dismantled by Old Ancestor Xiao Xiao and the remains buried in the cemetery along with the remains of the soldiers who had died in the battle to retake Great Evolution Pass.

There were more than 10,000 remains buried in the cemetery. Many of the martyrs had died without leaving behind anything apart from the mark they had left on the Monument of Heroes.

Yang Kai was quietly waiting in front of the cemetery.

Not long after, a streak of light flew over from the horizon before landing in front of him.

Before saying anything, the newcomer first respectfully bowed towards the cemetery then asked, “What is it?”

Grandmaster Ma Fan had immediately rushed over after receiving Yang Kai’s message, but he didn’t know why Yang Kai had chosen this location.

Normally, no one would come to the cemetery, and every time they did, it meant that someone who had died in the battle was going to be buried.

Those who died in battle didn’t need to be mourned, the survivors only needed to diligently cultivate, raise their strength, and kill more Black Ink Clansmen. This was the best way to comfort the dead.

“Do you know this Senior?” As Yang Kai spoke, he took out Senior Zhao’s remains and placed them in front of him.

Grandmaster Ma Fan shot a glance at them and was instantly stunned.

Although it was impossible to see the original appearance of this man after his corpse had dried out and shrivelled from exposure to the Void Crack for so many years, there still remained traces of his past visage.

In the past, when Great Evolution Pass was in critical need of assistance, all the Open Heaven Realm Masters of Great Evolution Paradise had rushed to the battlefield where they ultimately died in the final battle. If this Senior surnamed Zhao was someone who had come to support Great Evolution Pass, Grandmaster Ma Fan should be able to recognize him.

This was also why Yang Kai had sent him a message.

Senior Zhao had already passed away, but if it was possible, he should try to find out his full name so it could be properly inscribed onto the Monument of Heroes.

Reality proved that Grandmaster Ma Fan recognized this Senior.

Grandmaster Ma Fan started trembling. He knelt on the ground and respectfully kowtowed three times to the remains before slowly standing up and whispering with slightly red eyes, “He is my Great Evolution Paradise’s Martial Uncle Zhao Yi Huan!”

Yang Kai slightly nodded, confirming that Grandmaster Ma Fan was right.

Grandmaster Ma Fan suppressed his excitement and asked, “Where did you find him?”

Yang Kai heaved a sigh, “In the Void Crack between Great Evolution Pass and Wind and Cloud Pass. When Great Evolution Pass was breached, Senior Zhao took the Core and attempted to bring it safely to Wind and Cloud Pass. Unfortunately, Space Array was disabled at that time to prevent the Black Ink Clan from using it and he was trapped in the Void Crack mid-transit.”

Grandmaster Ma Fan immediately understood everything.

Only a few people knew about the loss of Great Evolution Pass’ Core, but Grandmaster Ma Fan was one of them.

This was because Old Ancestor Xiao Xiao had made preparations for all eventualities; on one side, she constantly harassed the Royal Lord, asking him for the Core, while one the other, she asked the Artifact Refining Great Grandmasters in the Pass to see if they could refine a replacement.

Unfortunately, even with Grandmaster Ma Fan and the other Artifact Refining Masters skills, their progress was dreadfully slow.

The core of every Pass was an ancient artifact. It wasn’t that the people of that era were necessarily more skilled in Artifact Refining than the current generation, but the Artifact Refiners of that era must have spent an enormous amount of time, effort, and resources to refine these cores. What Grandmaster Ma Fan and the others lacked most to refine a replacement was time.

“So you’ve also found the Core?” Grandmaster Ma Fan suddenly asked.

Yang Kai nodded.

“No wonder…”

It was no wonder so many Eighth-Order auras had appeared just now and gathered. It turned out that the Core had been found. Obviously, Old Ancestor Xiao Xiao wanted to borrow the Eighth-Order Open Heaven Realm Masters’ strength to install the Core and run some tests.

As his Sect Elder’s remains had been found, Grandmaster Ma Fan threw the matter of the Core to the back of his mind and helped Yang Kai bury his Martial Uncle in the cemetery without a moment of hesitation.

In truth, Ma Fan wasn’t that close with this Martial Uncle Zhao Yi Huan. In the era Great Evolution Paradise fell, Grandmaster Ma Fan had only recently entered the Sect and was just one of many young disciples. Although he was highly regarded by his Honoured Master, he hadn’t come into contact with too many top Masters of the Sect. In fact, he had only seen this Martial Uncle Zhao a few times.

He especially remembered the day when all of Great Evolution Paradise’s Open Heaven Realm Masters were mobilized. This Martial Uncle Zhao, like many other Martial Uncles and Ancestors, looked back at Great Evolution Paradise’s gate before leaving and never returned.

When they saw each other again, they were already separated by life and death.

Martial Uncle Zhao’s remains had been found, but the remains of his Honoured Master and many of his Senior Brothers and Senior Sisters who had reached the Open Heaven Realm had not even left a single bone behind.