Martial Peak

Chapter 5654: Spying

Yang Kai decided to wait patiently since Mo Na Ye was consulting with the true Royal Lord.

However, he kept his guard up for any possible sudden turn of affairs.

From this incident, he could see that the Black Ink Clan would seize on any chance to kill him. He just had an encounter with them at the Divine Spirit Ancestral Land, and now, the Black Ink Clan gathered Territory Lords to set up a Heaven Sealing Earth Locking Array to trap and exterminate him.

Although there were currently many Human Race Masters, the Black Ink Clan was only really wary of Yang Kai at the moment. The Black Ink Clan would no longer be constrained if he was to die.

However, Yang Kai emerged unscathed from the battle in the Ancestral Land. The Black Ink Clan was humiliated and had to negotiate for peace again, just like all those years ago when Yang Kai was terrorizing them.

At that time, the Black Ink Clan was forced into a peace agreement with the Humans in certain Great Territories because Yang Kai had been killing Innate Territory Lords time and time again. The losses were too heavy for the Black Ink Clan to bear.

Even now, the Black Ink Clan was clear that Yang Kai was raising a huge fuss and making unreasonable demands, but there was still nothing they could do about it.

A few moments later, Mo Na Ye nodded at Yang Kai and said, “We agree to your demands for 1,200 Black Ink Disciples.”

Yang Kai reiterated, “No less than 100 in the Seventh-Order Open Heaven Realm.”

Mo Na Ye said with a straight face, “Of course.” 

Since the Black Ink Clan had already agreed to this request, how could he haggle over the details? There were many Black Ink Disciples who were corrupted by the Black Ink Clan over the years. These Black Ink Disciples would eventually grow into Seventh-Order or even Eighth-Order Black Ink Disciples, of which Black Ink Clan had a few.

Originally, the Black Ink Clan wanted to use these Eighth-Order Black Ink Disciples to infiltrate the Human Great Territories as spies to obtain critical information or perform sabotage; however, there was now an abundance of Purifying Light within the Human Race’s side, and in order to enter any rear facility or territory, one had to enter a Purifying Black Ink Battleship. Under the Purifying Light, the Black Ink Disciples would not be able to hide. Thus, those Eighth-Order Black Ink Disciples were useless unless they were used to fight the Human Race Masters on the battlefield.

As Yang Kai said, 100 Black Ink Disciples in exchange for the life of a Territory Lord was actually very reasonable. As long as the Humans had Hunters, the Black Ink Clan would not lack in Black Ink Disciples.

“Sir Yang can state your second condition,” Mo Na Ye said.

Yang Kai looked at him with a smile and nodded, “I want to know how you became a Royal Lord. As far as I know, an Innate Territory Lord can’t become a Royal Lord. So, how did you do it and how did Di Wu do it?”

Mo Na Ye calmly replied, “Who told you that Innate Territory Lords cannot become Royal Lords? Di Wu and I had been cultivating for many years, so there is nothing strange about us achieving a breakthrough, right?”

“Don’t take me for a fool!” Yang Kai snorted, “Before Di Wu became a Royal Lord, 13 Innate Territory Lords entered a High-Rank Black Ink Nest in the No-Return Pass and disappeared one after another. When you became a Royal Lord, 12 Territory Lords were ‘conveniently’ executed. Are you trying to tell me there is no relationship between these events?”

“Of course not!” Mo Na Ye tried to deny it, but after a moment, he realized that Yang Kai should have gotten this information from those Seventh-Order Spirit Array Masters.

After the battle of the Ancestral Land, the 12 surviving Territory Lords escaped while the Seventh-Order Black Ink Disciples went missing. They apparently had fallen into Yang Kai’s hands and were rescued by him. During the time they had been in the No-Return Pass, although they did not know anything about the Source Fusion Technique, those Seventh-Order Masters weren’t blind and surely took note of certain events.

“Were they sacrificed?” Yang Kai looked straight into Mo Na Ye’s eyes and continued, “There must be some method the Black Ink Clan possesses that allows a large number of Innate Territory Lords to sacrifice themselves and integrate their power into a Black Ink Nest. After enough power is accumulated, an Innate Territory Lord can absorb all of it for themselves, allowing them to break through their shackles and become a Royal Lord!”

Mo Na Ye maintained a straight face the whole time, so Yang Kai could not tell anything from his reaction. In the end, Mo Na Ye just flatly stated, “Whatever Your Excellency chooses to believe, let that be the truth.”

Yang Kai stared at him deeply for a long time before he waved his hand and said, “Good.”

He also knew that he could not get an admission from the Black Ink Clan. Even if the Black Ink Clan did tell him some story, would he believe it? Whatever the Black Ink Clan said still had to be verified, so there was no point in pushing the issue.

Without dwelling on the matter, Yang Kai said, “Let’s talk about the resources…”

Mo Na Ye was exhausted from having to deal with Yang Kai all day, so he quickly cupped his fist and said, “We need time to prepare the resources and gather the Black Ink Disciples. Please wait for a while. Once they are ready, we will deliver them to you.”

[Humans… are truly disgusting and difficult to deal with,] fumed Mo Na Ye internally.

Mo Na Ye deeply appreciated how difficult it was to communicate with Yang Kai. He was glad that he did not argue with Yang Kai about the specifics of the supplies or he might want him to list out all the materials in detail. He was just relieved that the negotiations were finally over.

Yang Kai nodded lightly and tossed a communication bead to him and said, “Take your time to prepare. Send me a message when they are ready and I will come.”

Mo Na Ye took the communication bead, but when he looked up, Yang Kai had already disappeared. He did not seem to worry that the Black Ink Clan would renege on the agreement and did not even give a time limit.

Yang Kai figured he did not need to give a deadline, for if the Black Ink Clan dared to renege, the Territory Lords in the Great Territory Battlefields would be in imminent danger. Yang Kai would surely kill 100 Territory Lords just as he promised.

As for now, the Black Ink Clan wanted him to be as far away as possible. They had nothing to gain by having him lingering around. Although the two Royal Lords were indifferent to having such a Human Master nearby, the Territory Lords couldn’t help feeling nervous.  

Mo Na Ye turned around and flew towards the No-Return Pass. When he reached the Royal Lord, he bowed low and said, “Sir, we subordinates failed in our responsibilities and caused a huge loss to our Black Ink Clan. Please punish us, Sir.”

To this declaration, the Royal Lord just waved his hand and said, “It’s not your fault. I was the one who underestimated him.”

He originally thought that everything would be safe with Mo Na Ye guarding the No-Return Pass, but the growth of this Human had vastly exceeded his expectations and caught him off guard. Clearly, Yang Kai’s strength had increased several times since 3,000 years ago, to the point where even facing Mo Na Ye and many Territory Lords, he could still destroy two Black Ink Nests and make his escape.

Back then, Yang Kai did not have such strength.

After calming down, the Royal Lord concluded that even if he was also here at the No-Return Pass, he might not be able to protect the High-Rank Black Ink Nests unless he could find a way to kill Yang Kai in one blow.

“I’ll leave the preparation of the supplies and gathering of the Black Ink Disciples to you. Just get rid of him as soon as possible,” The Royal Lord glanced at the depths of the void with obvious disgust, as if Yang Kai was a dirty beggar who kept clinging on to him, refusing to let go.

“Yes!” Mo Na Ye replied respectfully.

As orders were passed down through the Black Ink Nests, teams with supplies and Black Ink Disciples from the various Great Territories began to converge at the No-Return Pass.

Some 50 million kilometres away from the No-Return Pass, Yang Kai retracted his aura while hiding inside a small Universe Fragment while he began adjusting his breathing and healing his wounds.

Fortunately, he did not sustain any serious injuries this time, so it did not take much time to recover.

Yang Kai had not received any contact from Mo Na Ye, but he was not in a hurry. He just silently studied the Grand Daos of Time and Space. With the recent refinement of his Dragon Vein, his attainments in the Dao of Time had grown to the same level of mastery as his Dao of Space. Yang Kai’s understanding of the Space-Time Strength was also much clearer and more intuitive than before.

Even so, he still had a long way to go.

At least, in his own assessment of the Grand Dao Mastery, whether it was the Dao of Time or the Dao of Space, he had yet to reach the highest level, Shocking History and Dazzling the Present.

Yang Kai had a feeling that if his two Grand Daos reached the highest level one day, his Space-Time Strength would experience a dramatic change.

Additionally, it was just about time for him to make a trip to the Primordial Heavens Source Grand Restriction.

Wu Kuang agreed to guard the Primordial Heavens Source Grand Restriction, while Yang Kai promised to check in on him after 3,000 years. It was about time.

Wu Kuang made a bold statement that 3,000 years would be enough for him to become a Ninth-Order Master. Yang Kai did not know if he succeeded, but still, Wu Kuang was the reincarnation of Shi, the original creator of the Heaven Devouring Battle Law, and the possessor of the Flawless Purifying Golden Lotus. As long as there was enough power for him to devour, Wu Kuang would grow at a speed that no one could match.

Inside the Primordial Heavens Source Grand Restriction was the true body of Mo, whose Black Ink Strength was immense. To cultivate the Heaven Devouring Battle Law, Wu Kuang was practically devouring Black Ink Strength without any limit.

Guarding the Primordial Heavens Source Grand Restriction might have been a chore for others, even for the original Cang and his compatriots, but it was actually a joy for Wu Kuang.

It had been more than 3,000 years since the Primordial Heavens Source Grand Restriction war and the collapse of the Human Race Grand Army. Mo was struck by Mu’s Secret Technique at the last moment and fell into a deep sleep, with no one knowing when it would wake up.

Once it woke up, it would be disastrous if the Human Race still did not have the means to deal with it.

Yang Kai felt a sense of powerlessness. The cultivation of the Eighth-Order Open Heaven Realm was still too weak in front of the rising tide of the Universe.

He hoped that he would not be disappointed with the Three Selves Source Reconstitution Art that Wu Kuang had given him.

Three months later, Yang Kai, who was meditating, suddenly felt something and took out the communication bead. When he infused his Divine Sense to look into it, it was Mo Na Ye who had sent a message that informed him that the supplies and 1,200 Black Ink Disciples were ready for him. They were now waiting for Yang Kai to return to the No-Return Pass to settle the grudge over the Ancestral Land ambush.

It seemed that the Black Ink Clan had not been dragging their feet since he left that day.

Yang Kai would not go to the No-Return Pass so easily though. That was the Black Ink Clan’s stronghold, with countless Black Ink Clansmen gathered there. If he fell into the Heaven Sealing Earth Locking’s Array again, then Yang Kai would be in great trouble.

Thus, he pondered a little and then sent a message.

At the No-Return Pass, Mo Na Ye gripped the Communication Bead and was dumbfounded when he looked at it.

“What?” The Royal Lord stood up and asked in a deep voice.

Mo Na Ye shook his head and said, “This Human is very cautious. He doesn’t want to come to the No-Return Pass to receive the supplies, so he specified another location.”

“Just as expected.” The Royal Lord coldly snorted, “Go on then. Do not miss this opportunity!”

Mo Na Ye was surprised by the Royal Lord’s persistence to kill Yang Kai. Although he did not think it was appropriate to provoke Yang Kai anymore, he had no choice but to agree.