Martial Peak

Chapter 5475: Save One or Save a Hundred

What made Nan Yun even more uneasy was the tension he sensed in this Eighth-Order Open Heaven Realm Master’s posture.

In that instant, he couldn’t help but think of fleeing, but he was also aware that as a Seventh-Order Master, he had no chance of doing so in front of an Eighth-Order Master as it would only take a wave of the other party’s hand to kill him. 

With cold sweat dripping down his forehead, Nan Yun knelt on the ground to beg for mercy, “Senior, please forgive me. This Junior’s thoughts were clouded by greed. I dare not repeat the same mistake. Mercy, Senior!”

It was extremely rare for a majestic Seventh-Order Open Heaven Realm Master to be so meek and subservient; after all, all Masters in the Seventh-Order Open Heaven Realm were considered mighty existences in the 3,000 Worlds. Even in Cave Heavens and Paradises, they still existed as Elders and were highly regarded by many.

For such a Master, it was extremely hard to lose his composure and make such a meek and subservient gesture. 

However, Nan Yun was not born in those Cave Heavens and Paradises. As a result of his lifelong wandering and hardships, he developed a fear of death and a tendency to behave to his benefit and act in accordance with the situation regardless of shame. 

As long as he could save his life, put aside begging for mercy, it wouldn’t even be a big deal if he had to address the other party as Grandfather. 

It was not like he hadn’t been in such a position before after so many years in the Shattered Heaven, facing the majesty of the three Divine Monarchs.

Little did he know, Yang Kai’s tense complexion was not due to this small character taking advantage during the disaster. It was just that a question crossed Yang Kai’s mind at this very moment. 

[What will the cultivators of the Shattered Heaven do if I block this Territory Gate?] 

Although the vast majority of cultivators here were criminals, there was no small proportion of kind individuals whose luck was just bad. In addition to that, many cultivators born in the Shattered Heaven were here simply because of their forefathers’ wrongdoings rather than their own.

This was not a matter of one or two cultivators, or even one or two Great Forces, but rather the fate of all living beings in the Shattered Heaven! 

The Black Ink Giant Spirit God was already on its way here, and the Black Ink Strength it naturally gave off was many times more intense than even the Royal Lords, able to stain and corrupt countless cultivators wherever it went. 

Once the portal here was sealed and the Shattered Heaven cultivators had no way to escape, the entire Shattered Heaven would soon become filled with Black Ink Disciples.

However, without sealing the Territory Gate, the Black Ink Giant Spirit God could not be delayed, and the Black Ink Disciples hidden in the Shattered Heaven would also escape to other Great Territories!

By that time, it would be a situation where a tiny spark kindled a whole prairie of fire. 

[Perhaps the Black Ink Disciples have already left the Shattered Heaven by now…]

Yang Kai looked down at Nan Yun who was kneeling in front of him and quickly commanded, “Get up. I have a task for you.”

Yang Kai’s previous silence made Nan Yun feel like he was under a mountain of pressure, and the fear that he might die at any moment enveloped him, so as soon as he heard Yang Kai’s remarks, he dared not hesitate. Rising up swiftly he smiled ingratiatingly and said, “Senior, if you need anything, just give me your order. You can count on me.” 

Yang Kai pointed behind himself and declared, “Lead them to a secluded and safe hiding place. The Shattered Heaven’s fate is already sealed and it won’t be long before there is no pure land left here. Spread the word as widely as possible for everyone to go into hiding and not come out until the issue is resolved.”

Nan Yun was taken aback and inquired, “Because of the Black Ink Giant Spirit God?”

If it was more than a month ago, Nan Yun would have no idea what a Black Ink Giant Spirit God was at all; however, the Black Ink Giant Spirit God was no longer an unknown since Hong Hu spread word about it after she left the Divine Spirit Ancestral Land. 

Nan Yun initially did not take this matter all that seriously, but after hearing Yang Kai’s words, he felt that he was too naïve previously. 

The situation in the Shattered Heaven was probably far worse than he imagined; otherwise, the Eighth-Order Open Heaven Realm Master in front of him wouldn’t be so solemn about this matter. 

“Can you do it?” Yang Kai asked in a solemn voice.

Nan Yun cupped his fist and replied, “Junior will do his best!”

Yang Kai nodded, “Go. The more isolated and concealed, the better.”

After he waved his hand signalling him to leave, Nan Yun retreated respectfully and quickly used a Secret Technique to command everyone to follow him. Of course, there were a few who were unwilling to obey. Nan Yun tried to persuade them patiently but failed, and as a result, he lost his composure and wounded one of them. Later, he secretly cast a glance at Yang Kai, only to see no reaction from the latter and taking it as tacit agreement. Unshackled, Nan Yun wounded numerous people who refused to obey his commands one after the other.  

Now, everyone was obeying him. 

Following Nan Yun’s order, all the cultivators gathered in front of the Territory Gate turned around and headed for the depths of the Shattered Heaven. 

Yang Kai felt desolate.

Blocking the Shattered Heaven’s portal was equivalent to cutting off the escape route for many cultivators, but if it was not sealed, it would only make the situation worse.

When disciples first left their Sects for life experience in the wider world, their Elders would often ask them whether they would save one or 100 to test their morals.

If they chose to save one, 100 people would die. 

If they chose to save 100, one would die. 

How would they make the decision?

In truth, there was no right answer to this question, it all merely depended on their heart. 

Yang Kai never imagined that one day he would really face such a choice. 

And his choice was to save 100! 

Blocking the Shattered Heaven Territory Gate now might doom everyone living here to a miserable fate, but if it was not sealed, that disaster would multiply hundreds of times over as disaster would descend on the entire 3,000 Worlds.

Furthermore, even if the cultivators here were corrupted by Black Ink Strength, they would not be at risk of losing their lives immediately, they would just lose their sense of self and become subservient to the Black Ink Clan. Such chaos could still be restored with Purifying Light, so there was no reason to hesitate. 

This did not solely apply to the Shattered Heaven of course, but to the three Great Territories on the way to Wind Mist Territory as well. 

The most urgent issue at the moment was keeping the Black Ink Giant Spirit God from entering Wind Mist Territory.

Yang Kai did not dally after Nan Yun took the crowd away. He flashed into Territory Gate, manipulated Space Principles to disrupt the Void, and sealed the portal.

Having previous experience sealing the Territory Gate connecting the Barren Territory to the Black Ink Battlefield, it was far easier this time for Yang Kai. 

The portal had been entirely smoothed out by the time Yang Kai rushed through from the other end of the short Void Corridor. 

With no delay, he immediately rushed to the portal leading to the other Great Territory while along his way, he warned everyone he could. 

…

While Yang Kai was doing his best, the Human Race and the Black Ink Clan began a violent battle on the Barren Territory battlefield, surrounding the body of the slain Black Ink Giant Spirit God.

How could the Human Race sit idly by now that the location of a breach in the Barren Territory had been discovered? Under the mobilisation of all the Army Commanders, the Human and Divine Spirit forces quietly moved to occupy this portal.

As long as they could seize control of the Territory Gate, the Black Ink Clan would be unable to establish a link to the 3,000 Worlds. Likewise, the Human Race might be able to find a way to close the portal permanently.

Before this, the battle between the Human Race and the Black Ink Clan had gradually decreased in intensity. After all these years of fighting, both the Human Race and the Black Ink Clan had suffered tremendous losses with even the number of Royal Lords and Old Ancestors falling to a third of their peak. 

Both parties sought to maintain their strength while waiting for the circumstances to change.

Initially, the Black Ink Clan was unconcerned with this tiny loss as their Armies were essentially endless with fresh troops being sent from the Black Ink Battlefield constantly. There were over 100 High-Rank Black Ink Nests many times more Mid-Rank Black Ink Nest breeding new soldiers, not to mention countless Low-Rank Black Ink Nests doing the same. 

The Black Ink Clansmen could be created indefinitely as long as there were sufficient resources.

They could use this advantage to conduct a battle of attrition with the Human Race, slowly wearing the enemy down and eventually gaining an absolute advantage.

However, Yang Kai’s return trip from the Barren Territory to the Black Ink Battlefield completely wiped out that advantage.

He sealed the Territory Gate that connected the Barren Territory to the Black Ink Battlefield!

How despicable! 

This seal was not unbreakable of course; the Black Ink Clan still had a Black Ink Giant Spirit God who was capable of tearing open the sealed Territory Gate.

However, because it lacked the necessary intelligence to be aware of its surroundings and was entangled with Ah Er in a battle, it did not have time to deal with the sealed portal. Only a Giant Spirit God could fight another Giant Spirit God. These two Giant Spirit Gods were engaged in a fierce battle on the Barren Territory battlefield and no one from the Black Ink Clan nor the Human Race dared to get within a million kilometres of that clash.

The Black Ink Clan never imagined that their side would one day face a shortage of troops. Many Royal Lords despised that Human with all their hearts, and they all secretly swore that they would rip his corpse into 10,000 pieces if they were ever given the chance. 

Because of this, for the past 10 years or so, the battles between the Human Race and the Black Ink Clan had settled down considerably, to the point where it almost seemed tepid.

The strongest Masters would simply never join in the battle and the two Armies would often just launch tentative attacks, only pressing ahead when they were certain they would win.

However, the fragile peace was shattered the moment the Humans tried to seize control of the second Territory Gate. 

The Armies of the two Races were never frightened of death and soon were going all out to gain control of that region. 

The original Human Army was not dominant in terms of military might; after all, they had suffered way too much over the preceding years of war; however, they were on equal footing at the present moment. 

This was thanks to the assistance of the Divine Spirits, who made up for much of the Human Race’s lack of high-end battle capability, particularly that of the Dragon Clan and Phoenix Clan leaders who were stronger than even the strongest Ninth-Order Open Heaven Realm Masters.

These two were, after all, from the Races that ruled over the entire Early Ancient Era. When the Dragons and Phoenixes ruled the 3,000 Worlds, the Human Race was still among the weakest of all living beings, not even comparable to the Monster Race.

It wasn’t until Cang and the other Martial Ancestors were enlightened to the Open Heaven Realm that the Human Race’s status gradually rose.

On top of that, the Cave Heavens and Paradises recruited reinforcements from all the various Great Territories, bolstering the Human Army’s numbers. The only element they were lacking was sufficient numbers of Warships. 

Every time a battle broke out, numerous Warships were either damaged or destroyed, and even though the Artifact Refiners strove their hardest to refine more and repair those that were broken, they were unable to keep up with the rate of destruction.

Complicating masters were the many cultivators who were new to this kind of battlefield.

These Fifth and Sixth-Order Open Heaven Realm Masters had never engaged in a real war and at best had experienced some struggles between rival Sects. None of them had participated in such a large-scale battle involving millions of cultivators!

It was not until these cultivators from the Second Class great forces entered the Barren Territory battlefield that they understood where all the heritage the Cave Heavens and Paradises accumulated over countless years had gone, and only then did they realize how great the sacrifice these top forces had made to protect the 3,000 Worlds.

They couldn’t help feeling shame upon learning the truth.