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Translator: Silavin & Jon
Translation Checker: PewPewLazerGun
Editor and Proofreader: Leo of Zion Mountain & Dhael Ligerkeys
Yang Kai knew that he could cultivate pretty quickly, but Wu Kuang wasn’t any slower. When they met again after that day, both of them were in the Sixth-Order Open Heaven Realm. Then, Wu Kuang hid inside the New Great Territory for a while before Yang Kai brought him to the Shattered Heaven.
Someone like Wu Kuang could only be in his own skin in a place such as the Shattered Heaven. After that, Yang Kai never heard from him again.
Sometimes, Yang Kai wondered what would have happened if he hadn’t defeated Blood Crow, who was later brought away by the Fisherman Uncle from Bright King Cave Heaven. He imagined that when Wu Kuang arrived at the Shattered Heaven, there would have been a fierce battle between two evenly-matched opponents.
Both the Heaven Devouring Battle Law and the Grand Evolution Immortal Blood Light Scripture could absorb and refine other people’s powers, so they shared some similarities. It would surely be an interesting fight if Wu Kuang and Blood Crow encountered one another.
In a straightforward comparison, there was no denying that the Heaven Devouring Battle Law was more powerful as there was nothing that the Heaven Devouring Battle Law could not refine as long as it had some energy.
On the other hand, even though the Grand Evolution Immortal Blood Light Scripture could devour another person’s strength, it was mainly focused on refining their Blood Essence. In that sense, it was inferior to the Heaven Devouring Battle Law.
With that said, Blood Crow had been subdued and brought back to Bright King Heaven a long time ago. When Wu Kuang arrived at the Shattered Heaven, only the stories of Blood Crow remained.
Yang Kai reckoned that if the two of them ever met, there was no doubt Blood Crow would be at a disadvantage. Several hundred years had passed since then, and he wondered how Wu Kuang had been doing in the Shattered Heaven. Given the wickedness of his Secret Art, he must be the focus of much ire and contempt.
At that moment, Yang Kai even felt a bit sorry for him.
“Wu Kuang…” Cang muttered before he started guffawing. He appeared so exhilarated that he almost broke into tears of joy as he chanted, “Wu Kuang!”
Yang Kai was astounded, “You know Wu Kuang, Senior?”
Cang shook his head, “Nope. It’s the first time I’ve ever heard his name.”
At that, Yang Kai was baffled. [Since you don’t know Wu Kuang, why are you so happy to hear about him?]
Unbeknownst to him, even though Cang wasn’t aware of who Wu Kuang was today, he knew someone else similar to him. In fact, the Heaven Devouring Battle Law was the primary Secret Art that other person cultivated.
There was no denying that this Secret Art was evil. With that said, there was no such thing as right or wrong when it came to Secret Arts, only people who could be divided into good and evil. Whatever Secret Art it was, the person using it would determine whether it was just or malevolent.
[Part of Shi’s plan succeeded! Otherwise, the Heaven Devouring Battle Law wouldn’t have been passed down to someone else. However, looking at the matter from another perspective, his plan also seems to have failed.]
Although Cang had never come into contact with Wu Kuang, through Yang Kai’s words he could tell that Wu Kuang never inherited all of Shi’s memories.
Perhaps after Shi left this place back then, his Soul was gradually worn down after encountering many different crises. As such, Wu Kuang had no idea what had happened in his previous life, he only retained knowledge of the wondrous Secret Art named the Heaven Devouring Battle Law.
Regardless, this was the best news Cang had heard in the past few millions of years.
“Have you been to the Grand Ancient Ruins Boundary?” Cang suddenly asked.
Yang Kai was caught off guard by the sudden change of topic, but he was even more astounded by the old man’s question and couldn’t help asking, “How do you know, Senior?”
Cang replied with a smile, “I can feel the World Tree’s aura coming from you.”
Only then did Yang Kai understand.
“I saw you running around the battlefield without worrying about getting corrupted by Black Ink Strength. It’s apparent that you have a World Tree clone protecting your Small Universe.”
Yang Kai nodded, “You have sharp eyesight, Senior. There’s indeed a World Tree clone in my Small Universe, but I didn’t get it from the Grand Ancient Ruins Boundary. I acquired it from a Universe Cave Heaven that was left behind on the battlefield.”
The World Tree clone he had obtained from Grand Ancient Ruins Boundary was planted in the Star Boundary, an action that saved the Star Boundary from collapsing and also transformed it into the Open Heaven Realm Cradle it was today.
Then, Yang Kai realised something and asked in shock, “The World Tree and the Grand Ancient Ruins Boundary existed in your era, Senior?”
Cang had been guarding this place and separated from the outside world for millions of years, so it surprised Yang Kai that he was aware of the World Tree and the Grand Ancient Ruins Boundary.
Cang chuckled, “The World Tree and Grand Ancient Ruins Boundary are far more ancient than you think. I heard that the World Tree was born the moment Heaven and Earth split apart.”
[It was born with the Universe itself…] Recently, Yang Kai had learned quite a number of secrets that were previously unknown to him.
“As for the Grand Ancient Ruins Boundary…” Cang frowned, “No one knows how exactly it was formed. I told you all that in the Late Ancient Era, a mighty force realised that the Humans were suffering in hardship, so it gathered together 10 Humans to spread the Martial Dao. Only then did the Human Race truly learn to cultivate.”
Yang Kai nodded as Cang had told them about it before. Cang and the other nine Martial Ancestors were those 10 people who had created the Primordial Heavens Source Grand Restriction. Millions of years had passed since then, and the other nine people had all passed away. Only Cang was left guarding this place.
At that time, an Old Ancestor asked what the mighty force was, but Cang only replied with a smile that it was the Will of the Heavenly Way.
Presently, the battlefield was in chaos, but the Primordial Heavens Source Grand Restriction was completely unaffected. The Black Ink Clansmen didn’t bother to attack the two of them because they knew they were unable to break the Primordial Heavens Source Grand Restriction.
Cang went on to say calmly, “The 10 of us managed to ascend to the Open Heaven Realm after we were swept into the Grand Ancient Ruins Boundary.”
Hearing that, Yang Kai was astounded.
“Before that, even though the Humans could gain some power through simple cultivation, we could only reach somewhere below the Open Heaven Realm. At that time, the realm below the Open Heaven Realm was the end of Martial Dao.”
Yang Kai hurriedly straightened his back. He had a feeling that he was about to hear some incredible secret.
“The 10 of us were not born in the same place. Rather, we all came from different Great Territories. We managed to gain the acknowledgement of our homelands and became Venerables in our own lands. Only then were we able to shake off our Universe World’s restraints and head out into the vast void to explore a higher Martial Dao.”
He went on to say, “At that time, Monster Beasts were everywhere with all of them possessing the bloodlines of Divine Spirits, though the purity of those bloodlines varied greatly. Their cultivation was unhindered as the powers of their bloodlines alone allowed them to grow into formidable beings. The Humans were unable to defend themselves from the Monster Beasts. In order to solve this crisis, we had to seek a higher Martial Dao. However, no one managed to succeed.”
After a pause, he continued, “One day, I was swept away by a rolling fog and brought to the Grand Ancient Ruins Boundary. In that place, I came across the other nine and became friends with them. Just like me, they had left their homelands in search of a higher Martial Dao. A long time has passed, so I can’t remember many of the details, but with that said, I will never be able to forget the strangeness of the Grand Ancient Ruins Boundary. While we were there, we experienced countless crises, but by working together, we eventually resolved all of them. Looking back now, I realize that those were all trials for us. In the end, we arrived at a place where there was an enormous tree, the World Tree.”
Yang Kai nodded, for he had seen the World Tree as well, though it wasn’t a pleasant encounter. Still, he had gained some benefits from the World Tree; otherwise, the Seventh Order would have been his limit in this lifetime.
“The tree gave us one fruit each.”
Hearing that, Yang Kai was surprised, “The World Tree was so generous?”
At that time, he had gone through the trials of different Worlds before he acquired some Low-Rank and Mid-Rank World Fruits, and the only reason he obtained a root was because the World Tree sacrificed it to throw him out.
However, Cang and the other Martial Ancestors were just given World Fruits without doing anything. What’s more, the achievements of Cang and the others suggested that the World Fruits they had acquired were High-Rank World Fruits. Perhaps they were even superior to High-Rank World Fruits.
In comparison, what Yang Kai had obtained was nothing worth noting. He had the urge to head to the Grand Ancient Ruins Boundary again and rob the World Tree.
Cang went on to say, “After we consumed the fruits, we were able to open Small Universes in our bodies and step into the Open Heaven Realm. Only then did we comprehend the cultivation method of the Open Heaven Realm. After leaving the Grand Ancient Ruins Boundary, we taught everyone this cultivation method, and the Humans were finally able to oppose the Monster Beasts.”
Yang Kai said solemnly, “It was thanks to Sir and the other Seniors that the Human Race was finally able to cultivate. Your contributions should be remembered by all.”
With a smile, Cang waved his hand, “The reason I’m telling you all this is that over the years, I’ve faintly detected something.”
“Please enlighten me, Senior.”
After a moment of deliberation, Cang continued, “Back then, we came from different Great Territories and Universe Worlds, but we were swept into the Grand Ancient Ruins Boundary by the rolling fog all at the same time. The crises we faced seemed to be the trials to test our temperaments. In the end, the fruits given to us seemed to be the World Tree’s rewards.”
He paused for a moment, “Initially, we didn’t read too much into it. Since we had acquired greater powers, we decided to teach the other Humans how to do the same so that we all had the capital to gain a footing in the vast universe. Later, we created the Primordial Heavens Source Grand Restriction and confined Mo to this place. Only then did we have time to ponder on certain issues. The World Tree’s existence seems to have something to do with the entire 3,000 Worlds. To be precise, the World Tree might be the source of the 3,000 Worlds.”
Yang Kai was astounded, “You mean… the 3,000 Worlds are just a reflection of the World Tree’s power?”
Cang shook his head, “That’s not what I meant. There’s a reason the tree is named the World Tree and it must have something to do with the 3,000 Worlds. The 10 of us were swept into the Grand Ancient Ruins Boundary and given the fruits by the World Tree, thus allowing us to create a complete Martial Dao system. Rather than saying it was our opportunity, it was more like a method the 3,000 Worlds used to help itself.”
“Help itself?” Yang Kai muttered, “You mean the 3,000 Worlds has a consciousness of its own?”
“Perhaps not a consciousness, or at least one that we would understand. Think of it as there being some ‘rules’ that we’re unable to comprehend,” Cang explained, “At that time, Mo’s sentience had just awakened, and Black Ink Strength started spreading across the Great Territories. If left unhindered, the entire universe would have been taken over by Black Ink Strength. Therefore, someone had to stop it. Even if it was not us, there would have been another 10 to take up that role.”
Cang stared fervently at Yang Kai, “What’s more, there must have been more than one attempt to help itself. The World Tree gave you a clone. If I’m not mistaken, you’re also one of the ones selected by these ‘rules’.”
It was because of that realization that Cang paid extra attention to Yang Kai and sent a transmission to him, telling him to seek refuge next to him when he fell into danger. It was also because of this realization that Cang told Yang Kai so many things.
In the Late Ancient Era, Cang and the other nine were just a means the ‘rules’ tried to use to save themselves. Now, Yang Kai could very well be those same ‘rules’ trump card.
Yang Kai fell into a dazed state.
Even though the clone he had obtained in the Grand Ancient Ruins Boundary was subsequently planted in the Star Boundary, he inadvertently acquired another to shelter his Small Universe at a later point. Rather than it all just being a big coincidence, Cang’s speculation made more sense.
Was Yang Kai also one of the ways the unfathomable ‘rules’ tried to save themselves?
Hello!
Many thanks for the chapter, as always.
Yang Kai’s plot armor has finally been acknowledged by the narrative—chosen by the universe to try to save it.
Lol. Right?