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Translator: Silavin & Qing
Translation Checker: PewPewLazerGun
Editor and Proofreader: Leo of Zion Mountain & Dhael Ligerkeys
Zhong Liang snarled angrily, “Those old bastards used ‘inspecting’ the half-complete Purifying Black Ink Battleship as an excuse to see Yang Kai and secretly offer him all kinds of benefits! They’re trying to poach him!”
After hearing what happened, Liang Yu Long was also furious. He smashed his fist on the table in front of him and snapped, “Shameless thieves! How dare they try to take advantage of us!?”
Zhong Liang pondered for a moment, turned his head, and ordered his adjutant, “Send a message to those old bastards and tell them to come to the Conference Hall. Just say that Blue Sky Pass has something to discuss with them.”
The adjutant received the order and quickly turned around and left.
Meanwhile, Liang Yu Long looked at Zhong Liang and said, “Are you going to…”
Zhong Liang grunted, “Since they’re being so shameless, is there any point in showing them respect?”
An hour later, two rows of seats inside the Main Conference Hall were filled with people, all of them Eighth-Order Masters from other Great Passes. The scene could be described as a gathering of talents and a luxurious lineup.
There were roughly 50 people gathered inside the hall, all of them representing one of the Great Passes. There were only these few because there were many Eighth-Order Open Heaven Realm Masters from other Great Passes who had not arrived yet. They were either in the middle of building Purifying Black Ink Battleships or were on their way here.
Although there weren’t many people, the hall was silent, and there were only Divine Senses flying back and forth as the Masters conversed with each other.
After everyone had arrived, the four Army Commanders of Blue Sky Pass came out from the back and took their seats in the front.
The scattered Divine Senses calmed down, and the group looked forward, wondering why the Army Commanders of Blue Sky Pass called them here.
As they had already discussed this prior to coming here, they didn’t spare any time after taking their seats, and Ding Yao, the Eastern Army Commander, spoke first, “I heard that many of you went to take a look at the Purifying Black Ink Battleship in progress today.”
The moment he said that, many Eighth-Order Open Heaven Realm Masters immediately understood. All of them were old foxes, so how could they not notice that the hidden annoyance behind Ding Yao’s tone was because word of their actions had spread to the ears of Blue Sky Pass’ Army Commanders? Some of them felt restless, some closed their eyes and pretended to be sleeping, and some smiled but didn’t say anything. No one spoke a word.
Noticing their silence, Ding Yao continued, “I also heard that you all have promised Yang Boy a lot of benefits and are trying to poach him for your own Great Passes.”
He slammed his hand on the table and roared, “Look at you! Is this something an honourable person would do? The day the Purifying Black Ink Battleship was created, Blue Sky Pass was still being besieged by the Black Ink Clan, and was in a precarious situation, yet we still immediately passed on word to all the Great Passes and told all of you about this wondrous news! We know that on the Black Ink Battlefield, if one of us suffers, we all suffer, and if one of us prospers, we all prosper! We share whatever advancements and advantages we have and never hoard them from other Great Passes! With the Purifying Black Ink Battleships supporting up our Armies, we Humans will no longer be at risk of being corrupted by Black Ink Strength. This is a Heaven-sent blessing for all of us!”
He took a pause to glare around the room before continuing, “This was proven during the previous battle. Before Yang Kai arrived at Blue Sky Pass, our soldiers were still at risk of being corrupted by Black Ink Strength, but since his arrival, no one from Blue Sky Pass has suffered from Black Ink Strength anymore. This is especially true since the birth of the Purifying Black Ink Battleship. We of Blue Sky Pass have always been open and honest, but what about you all? How could you think of poaching him away from Blue Sky Pass? Don’t you have any conscience at all?”
If it were a normal Open Heaven Realm Master, they would have been frightened by Ding Yao’s roar; however, the guests here were all Eighth-Order Masters, and none of them was afraid of him. Of course, many of them were showing guilty expressions. What they did was indeed unrighteous, so they couldn’t refute Ding Yao’s words.
Only one person chuckled and said, “Brother Ding, don’t be angry. I don’t know what the others are thinking, but Yang Kai belongs to Yin-Yang Cave Heaven. As his Elder, I naturally want to bring him back to Yin-Yang Pass. He holds the Purifying Light, which is the only method we have to counteract Black Ink Strength. It is the key to breaking the stalemate between both races. Most importantly, we can better protect him after bringing him back to Yin-Yang Pass.”
The person who spoke was none other than Tang Qiu from Yin-Yang Pass.
Ding Yao turned his head to look at Tang Qiu and said indifferently, “Who says that disciples of Yin-Yang Cave Heaven must serve in Yin-Yang Pass? Blue Sky Pass also has disciples from Yin-Yang Heaven, and disciples of my Great Battle Cave Heaven are serving in Yin-Yang Pass. Since ancient times, once someone from the 3,000 Worlds is assigned to a Pass, they belong to that Pass. This is the rule, and it has nothing to do with the person’s Master Sect. Yang Kai came to Blue Sky Pass first, so he is a member of Blue Sky Pass, and he has already registered as a member here. Also, he is the Squad Leader of Blue Sky Pass’ Dawn Squad.”
Nodding slightly, Tang Qiu argued, “Of course I know that, but Brother Ding, you might have misheard me. What I said just now is that I want to bring him back to Yin-Yang Pass to better protect him. As for his Military Merits and his position as Squad Leader, we at Yin-Yang Pass can give him what Blue Sky Pass can give him as well.”
Those words angered Zhong Liang, and he roared, “What are you trying to say? Are you saying that Blue Sky Pass can’t protect him?”
Tang Qiu said slowly, “That’s not what I meant, but I heard that Yang Kai was only a Sixth-Order Master when he rushed out to the battlefield during the previous fight. Also, he was even attacked by a Royal Lord and almost lost his life. Is this true?”
The crowd was shocked at these words because most of them didn’t know about this. Even Tang Qiu only knew about this because he had overheard Lu An speaking about it.
Lu An did not mean to expose all this, he only spoke of how Yang Kai had excellent aptitude, braved life and death during the last battle, advanced to the next Order, and had his Purifying Light. He felt he would be of great use in the future.
When the crowd heard about this from Tang Qiu, they were greatly alarmed.
Everyone knew the importance of Yang Kai’s existence. He was the only one who could use Purifying Light, which was the only means to purify and dispel Black Ink Strength.
“Brother Ding, is this true?” Someone asked urgently.
Ding Yao was dumbfounded. There was no way to deny this, and Tang Qiu’s words had hit the nail on the head. Faced with stares from everyone, Ding Yao could only nod, “It is true, but Yang Kai also gained something from the disaster. He advanced from Sixth-Order Open Heaven Realm to Seventh-Order Open Heaven Realm.”
Shaking his head, Tang Qiu disagreed, “He was lucky this time, but he won’t always be lucky. He found an opportunity in the crisis this time, but who knows what might happen next? If he has an accident, the implications are unimaginable!”
Zhong Liang turned to look at him and asked, “Brother Tang, let me ask you this. If you take Yang Kai back to Yin-Yang Pass, how will you protect him?”
Tang Qiu replied, “I will place him in the Inner Sanctum. I will grant him anything he needs and won’t ever let him be in danger.”
Nodding, Zhong Liang retorted, “This was the same idea I had before, but… that brat might not agree with that. To tell you the truth, Brother Tang, he joined the battle last time by sneaking out onto the battlefield.”
“This is an important matter, and it doesn’t matter if he’s willing or not. Throughout the ages, how many elites from the Cave Heavens and Paradises shed blood on the Black Ink Battlefield? How many of them fell into this vast void? For the greater good of the Human Race, everyone must make sacrifices. He is in control of the Purifying Light, and he can determine the fate of the Human Race, so he must sacrifice his freedom.”
Zhong Liang smiled and said, “Why don’t you talk to Yang Kai about this and see if he will agree?”
Hearing that, Tang Qiu laughed, “How can we leave it to him to make the decision?” This meant that if Yang Kai was brought back to Yin-Yang Pass, he would not be able to leave the Pass under any circumstances ever again.
Zhong Liang frowned and said nothing.
Meanwhile, Shen Tu Mo, who had been keeping silent, suddenly spoke up, “To him, all of you here are highly respected Seniors. No matter whether it’s our seniority, strength, or status, we are all far better than him; yet we, the Seniors, are now placing the hope for our entire race on his shoulders. Don’t you think that is too cruel?”
The crowd was silent, and Tang Qiu frowned.
Shen Tu Mo continued, “The future of the Human Race cannot rely on just one person. For countless years, the Black Ink Clan has wanted to invade and conquer the 3,000 Worlds, but they are still being held back by us in this very Black Ink Battlefield. What did we do in the past when there was no Purifying Light? Did we just stand back and allow the Black Ink Clan to attack us with impunity? What would we do without Purifying Light in the future? Will we have no way of fighting the Black Ink Clan without such means? In my opinion, we can rely on Purifying Light to fight against the Black Ink Clan, but we cannot be fully dependent on it! Fellow Brothers, don’t put the cart before the horse.”
There was a silence in the hall as all the Eighth-Order Open Heaven Realm Masters fell into deep thought.
They had to admit that Shen Tu Mo’s words made sense.
Seeing that everyone was quiet, Shen Tu Mo added, “In the past, we didn’t have Yang Boy and his Purifying Light, but all the Great Passes were firmly united; but now, you are all sitting here arguing over who gets to keep him? Won’t such an argument destroy our unity? Furthermore, as far as I know, Yang Kai’s Purifying Light requires two unique types of materials called Yellow Crystals and Blue Crystals, which are only produced in the Chaotic Dead Territory. I don’t know how many Yellow and Blue Crystals he has, but he has to seal his Purifying Light into 400 Purifying Black Ink Battleships, which is a huge number. There will inevitably come a day when he runs out of these resources. When that happens, who will you ask for Purifying Light?”
“Yellow and Blue Crystals?”
“The Chaotic Dead Territory!?”
The others only knew about the wonders of the Purifying Light, but they did not know about the materials needed to create it or the source of those materials.
Shen Tu Mo was only repeating what Yang Kai had said to them before.
Many of the Eighth-Order Open Heaven Realm Masters immediately frowned at those words.
If that were true, the Purifying Light was not inexhaustible, and there would be a day when it ran out. By then, the Human Race would return to their previous situation.
As Shen Tu Mo said, Purifying Light could be used as a tool in battle, but they couldn’t fully rely on it. On the Black Ink Battlefield, the unity of the entire Human Race was the key to confronting the Black Ink Clan. It would indeed be putting the cart before the horse if they only had their eyes on the Purifying Light.
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