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Translator: Silavin & Tia
Translation Checker: PewPewLazerGun
Editor and Proofreader: Leo of Zion Mountain & Dhael Ligerkeys
Various orange and red rays of light wandered and moved about in the Spirit Array. Not only were they numerous, but they also moved as though they were alive.
Yang Kai raised his brow slightly at the sight. He could tell that this Spirit Array was the key to the inspection process.
Moreover, he also detected the auras of several Seventh-Order Open Heaven Realm Masters hiding in the shadows outside the Spirit Array and silently observing the people inside. He could clearly sense the wariness radiating from the people who were gathered around the Spirit Array. They were secretly urging their World Force as though they were ready to attack at any time should any abnormalities occur. These people were probably the Human Masters responsible for guarding and monitoring this place.
Everybody stood quietly inside the Spirit Array. During that time, the orange and red rays of light wandered over towards them. It didn’t take long before every one of them was enveloped by the orange and red rays of light.
Under the illumination of these lights, their expressions seemed a little strange. Nevertheless, nothing unusual happened to the others. Only the light enveloping Yang Kai suddenly flickered several times and turned from orange to pitch-black in an instant.
Everything happened in the blink of an eye. At that moment, all eyes turned towards Yang Kai. The look in Zhong Liang’s eyes sharpened, and his murderous intent blazed strongly.
Meanwhile, the hidden figures who had been guarding and monitoring the area surrounding the Spirit Array came forward in unison. They instantly surrounded Yang Kai so tightly that not even a breath of air could pass through them unnoticed. In the midst of their haste, they also formed seals with their hands and the person in the lead shouted, “Seal!”
Immediately after that, he summoned many delicate and tiny artifacts specially created for this situation. These artifacts hovered around Yang Kai in all directions and seemed to be connected to each other. With a surge of energy, they turned the space around Yang Kai into a cage and trapped him inside.
Everyone secretly breathed out a sigh of relief once everything was done. Even so, the cultivators in charge of guarding the Spirit Array remained vigilant.
It had been a long time since a similar incident took place. The last incident happened several hundred years ago. A Black Ink Disciple had snuck into this place and activated a Secret Technique that caused him to self-destruct. Although his death did not cause great losses to the Humans, the Black Ink Strength that remained after his death had been very troublesome. It had taken Blue Sky Pass painstaking effort just to remove the remaining Black Ink Strength.
The same thing had occurred today. It was fortunate that every single great pass had since taken precautions against such incidents, so they responded in a timely manner.
The atmosphere in the Grand Hall immediately became solemn.
“Stop!” Feng Ying shouted anxiously, “This is a misunderstanding!”
The people guarding the Spirit Array ignored her and vigilantly kept a watch on Yang Kai.
On the other hand, Yang Kai stood there with his head lowered, studying the pitch-black light covering his body. He had some guesses about what was happening; therefore, he immediately raised his hands and stood there quietly to indicate that he would not act rashly.
Zhong Liang calmly stared at Yang Kai for a moment before he turned to look at Feng Ying, “What do you mean?”
Feng Ying shot a look at Yang Kai. It was a signal asking him to remain calm. Quickly walking over to Zhong Liang, she sent him a Divine Sense transmission, “Martial Uncle Zhong, I can guarantee that Yang Kai is not a Black Ink Disciple.”
“How can you guarantee that? The Revealing Black Ink Array has reacted to him. That can only mean that he has Black Ink Strength in his body. If he has Black Ink Strength inside him, how can he not be a Black Ink Disciple?”
She sent another Divine Sense transmission, “It’s true that Yang Kai has Black Ink Strength in his body, but he has not been corrupted by it. He has a World Spring inside his Small Universe!”
Zhong Liang’s eyes narrowed at those words, and he turned to look at her, “One of the Four Universe Pillars, the World Spring? Are you sure?”
“I’ve inspected him myself. I can guarantee it!” She nodded sincerely, “Martial Uncle, if you don’t believe me, you can always inspect him yourself.”
He nodded sternly, “This is not something that can be done carelessly. I will certainly need to check for myself.”
She whispered, “Martial Uncle, a matter relating to the Four Universe Pillars is a big deal. There are too many eyes here…”
She did not finish her sentence. Even so, how could Zhong Liang not understand what she was implying? The Four Universe Pillars held great significance on the Black Ink Battlefield. For that reason, every single Human Master who possessed one of the Four Universe Pillars was considered a precious talent and resource. The existence of such a person was certainly not something that should be publicised; otherwise, there was no saying what kind of trouble would arise in the future.
Hence, Zhong Liang immediately nodded lightly and raised his hand to dismiss the others, “All of you, stand down and lift the barrier.”
Upon hearing those words, the people guarding the Spirit Array looked at each other in confusion. The leading Seventh-Order Open Heaven Realm Master hesitantly spoke up, “But, Martial Uncle Zhong, the Revealing Black Ink Array, has reacted to this person. He is definitely a Black Ink Disciple. If we remove the barrier, what will happen if he does something strange…”
“I have my own considerations. Just do as I say,” Zhong Liang did not allow for any objections.
Seeing his insistence, the others could not do anything. Zhong Liang was the one in charge of this area after all.
A short while later, the artifacts were retrieved and the barrier that confined Yang Kai was removed; then, everybody left the Grand Hall under Zhong Liang’s command.
Shen Ao and the others turned back to glance at Yang Kai before they left. Their gazes were filled with confusion.
If anybody claimed that Yang Kai was a Black Ink Disciple, they would be the first to refuse such claims. During this period of contact, they had gotten to know what kind of person Yang Kai was and were familiar with his means. How could a person who had a method to dispel and purify Black Ink Strength be a Black Ink Disciple? What’s more, he had transformed into a Grand Dragon to protect his allies just now and massacred a large part of the Black Ink Clan army. There was no saying how many Black Ink Clansmen had died at his hands.
If such a person turned out to be a Black Ink Disciple, then there was no justice left in the world. However, the Revealing Black Ink Array had reacted to him. It was extremely baffling. In any case, Zhong Liang had taken matters into his own hands. Even if they were suspicious, they could only wait and see for now.
It didn’t take long before Zhong Liang, Yang Kai, and Feng Ying were the only ones left inside the Grand Hall.
Zhong Liang did not relax his guard. Even though Feng Ying had guaranteed Yang Kai’s identity, he could not confirm anything until he saw the truth for himself.
“Open your Small Universe!” He instructed.
Yang Kai nodded.
Feng Ying opened her mouth and kindly gave a warning, “His Small Universe is a little special. Don’t be too surprised, Martial Uncle.”
Zhong Liang gave her a puzzled glance and thought to himself, [It’s just the World Spring. I already know about it, so why would I be surprised?]
Despite those thoughts, he couldn’t help raising his brow in surprise when his Divine Sense probed into Yang Kai’s Small Universe for inspection. He was absolutely shocked to the core as he began to mutter, “Why is your Small Universe…”
Everyone who inspected Yang Kai’s Small Universe had the same reaction. Yang Kai was used to this by now, so he casually explained, “This Junior is proficient in the Dao of Space, so my Small Universe fully materialized when I first broke through to the Open Heaven Realm. This Junior does not understand the exact reason behind this phenomenon.”
He really did not know the reason why his Small Universe was special. His proficiency in the Dao of Space was probably a factor, but the biggest factor was most likely him integrating the Sealed World Bead when he first advanced into the Open Heaven Realm. In any case, there was no need to explain such things to others.
Zhong Liang exclaimed in astonishment, “What Order were you in when you advanced into the Open Heaven Realm!?”
Yang Kai replied, “Fifth Order!”
The corners of Zhong Liang’s mouth twitched at those words. That was to say that Yang Kai’s Small Universe had already been fully materialized when he was in the Fifth-Order Open Heaven Realm.
Zhong Liang recalled how he had worked so hard to cultivate in the past. Even so, he only managed to achieve that feat when he advanced into the Seventh-Order Open Heaven Realm. There was no comparison at all.
The Small Universe of an Open Heaven Realm Master would only transform from immaterial to material when they reached the Seventh-Order Open Heaven Realm. That was both common knowledge and a principle that had been upheld since time immemorial. Zhong Liang dared not say that nobody else would achieve such a feat as a Fifth-Order Open Heaven Realm Master in the future, but this phenomenon was definitely unprecedented until today.
He suddenly remembered something and frowned deeply, “Are you part of the Human Race or the Dragon Clan?”
The Dragon Clan prioritised cultivating their bloodline. When their bloodline reached a certain level of purity, they would gain the corresponding strength. Therefore, there was no need for them to split Heaven and Earth apart in their bodies. They would not have a Small Universe either.
For that reason, Yang Kai’s situation left him feeling confused.
Yang Kai answered honestly, “This Junior is from the Human Race. It’s just that I carry a Dragon Source in my body.”
Zhong Liang was slightly taken aback by those words. If Yang Kai had a Dragon Source, then it made sense that he could cultivate the Dragon Clan’s Secret Techniques and assume a Dragon Form.
Nevertheless, Zhong Liang couldn’t help feeling shaken when he recalled the 20,000-metre-long Grand Dragon Form he saw. That was a Grand Dragon after all!
A 10,000-metre-long Dragon was equivalent to an average Seventh-Order Open Heaven Realm Master in terms of strength. In other words, a 20,000-metre-long Dragon had strength on par with a peak Seventh-Order Open Heaven Realm Master.
At the same time, he finally understood why Yang Kai’s attitude was different from the Dragon Clan that he had heard about in rumours. It was because Yang Kai could not be considered a part of the Pureblood Dragon Clan at all.
After that, Zhong Liang immersed himself in the investigation and saw the World Spring in Yang Kai’s Small Universe. The effects of the World Spring suppressed and sealed the Small Universe so that it became impervious to external influences. He smacked his lips at the sight and revealed a look of envy.
Who would not wish to possess one of the Four Universe Pillars? That was especially true on the Black Ink Battlefield. If one had one of the Four Universe Pillars, they would not need to worry about becoming corrupted by Black Ink Strength. That would put them in a very advantageous position in a battle against the Black Ink Clan. Unfortunately, these treasures were extremely rare and hard to find. Only those with great destiny could come across such treasures.
Zhong Liang also saw the Black Ink Strength suppressed and sealed inside Yang Kai’s Small Universe. Unable to stop himself, he asked curiously, “Does it not affect you to have Black Ink Strength suppressed and sealed inside your Small Universe?”
Yang Kai shook his head and said, “It doesn’t affect me at all. In fact, there are times when this Junior used Black Ink Strength to disguise himself as a Black Ink Disciple. It was by relying on this ability that this Junior survived for two years among the Black Ink Clan.”
While saying so, he controlled the Black Ink Strength inside his Small Universe and his eyes instantly turned pitch-black.
The corners of Zhong Liang’s mouth twitched, “You spent two years within the Black Ink Clan?”
That was extremely shocking information. Since time immemorial, there had never been anybody among the Human Race who could remain safe and sound after spending two years among the Black Ink Clan. Even with the protection of the World Spring, doing that was far too daring.
Feng Ying spoke up, “I was just about to tell you about this matter, Martial Uncle. It’s all thanks to Yang Kai that this Disciple managed to return.”
“What happened?” Zhong Liang asked.
Thus, she briefly recounted everything that happened to her. She spoke about how she had been corrupted by the Black Ink Strength of a Black Ink Territory Lord, used a Secret Technique to escape danger, and killed a High-Rank Black Ink Clansman. Afterwards, Yang Kai took the initiative to reveal his identity and joined forces with her to rescue the Black Ink Disciples. In the end, they finally managed to gather 300 allies before they proceeded to make their way back.
Even though Zhong Liang was well-learned and very knowledgeable, he couldn’t help widening his eyes in astonishment after listening to her explanation. It was not until she finally finished speaking that he took a deep breath and asked, “Did you just say he had the means to dispel and purify Black Ink Strength? Also, those people who came back with you were originally Black Ink Disciples?”
“That’s right.” Feng Ying nodded sincerely, “You should have seen his ability before, Martial Uncle. He performed that Secret Technique once when he aided this Disciple in the fight against the Territory Lord earlier.”
The realization struck Zhong Liang, “Are you referring to that white light?”
There was no way he did not have a deep impression of the Purifying Light. He had never seen such a pure white light that shone as brightly as the sun on the Black Ink Battlefield before. At the time, he had suspected that the death of the Territory Lord was likely related to the white light. From what he could tell at the moment, his guess seemed to be correct. It turned out to be the Black Ink Strength’s nemesis!
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