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Translator: Silavin & Tia
Translation Checker: PewPewLazerGun
Editor and Proofreader: Leo of Zion Mountain & Dhael Ligerkeys
That was a very sad, but inevitable ending. Such occurrences were nothing new on the Black Ink Battlefield. It was also the reason why Liu Mu once stated that those who crossed the No-Return Pass only had two futures waiting for them, die at the hands of the Black Ink Clan, or die at the hands of their comrades. There were no other options besides these two.
The Black Ink Clansman examined Yang Kai, who had been named E-5, “What Order are you in?”
Yang Kai activated the power of his Small Universe. Pretending to be respectful, he answered politely, “The Sixth-Order Open Heaven Realm!”
The Black Ink Clansman raised his thick eyebrow and broke out in a savage grin, “Very good!”
It was clear he was very satisfied with Yang Kai’s strength.
“Let’s go.” After that, he gestured with his large hand and took the lead to step out of the Black Ink Cloud.
A-1 and the others quickly followed behind. Yang Kai did not dare to hesitate and hurried to keep up with them. Nevertheless, he was feeling extremely frustrated inside. With the current situation, it was temporarily impossible for him to head towards the great passes guarded by the Cave Heavens and Paradises. He could only take one step at a time.
The Black Ink Disciples all had different personalities. A-1, B-2, and C-3 seemed rather reserved and quiet, but the short old man named D-4 was very talkative. Quietly dropping behind the others, he travelled side-by-side with Yang Kai and asked, “Little Brother, which Cave Heaven or Paradise did you come from?”
Yang Kai turned sideways to look at the short old man, then he glanced forward at the Black Ink Clansman in front.
D-4 smiled and said, “There’s no need to be afraid. Our master is very easy-going. The Black Ink Clan is similar to us in that they all have their own distinct temperaments. You’ll be fine as long as you diligently finish whatever task Master commands you to do. He will not restrict you during other times.”
He seemed to think that Yang Kai was scared of the Black Ink Clansman, which was why he explained the circumstances; after all, it was only natural for a person who had just gotten a new master to experience a period of adaptation.
Thinking back to the time when he first became a Black Ink Disciple, he too had been very cautious. He felt like he was constantly walking on thin ice, scared that he might be punished for making a mistake. It was just that he had relaxed considerably after working for his current master for so long.
“Senior, which Sect did you hail from?” Yang Kai countered the question with a question of his own instead.
He had to tell himself over and over again that the Black Ink Disciples often seemed no different from usual on the surface even though they had been corrupted by Black Ink Strength. It could be seen just by looking at the behaviour of D-4. Before being corrupted by the Black Ink, this old man had probably also been very talkative.
The reason Yang Kai did not answer was that he feared he might name the same Cave Heaven or Paradise as the other party and accidentally make a mistake.
D-4 smiled and said, “There’s no need to bother with formalities, just call me by my name. This Old Master comes from Nine Stars Paradise.”
Yang Kai was familiar with the Nine Stars Paradise; after all, he had interacted with the foreign affairs envoy of Nine Stars Paradise in the Star Boundary.
The truth was that he really wanted to ask which Cave Heaven or Paradise the others came from, but it was difficult for him to ask any questions if D-4 did not take the initiative to mention the subject; thus, he could only steel himself and report, “I came from Yin-Yang Cave Heaven.”
Out of the corner of his eyes, Yang Kai saw that none of the others had much of a reaction. He was relieved by their response as it would seem that none of them came from Yin-Yang Cave Heaven.
D-4 showed a look of realization, “Yin-Yang Cave Heaven, that’s a good place.”
Yang Kai was reluctant to speak further regarding this subject as saying too much could result in a mistake, so he swiftly changed the subject, “Where are we going?”
“The Fierce Wind Estate!” D-4 replied, “Our master can be considered part of the Fierce Wind Estate, so we have to go there.”
Yang Kai’s eyes flashed slightly before asking in a low voice, “Is Master a High-Rank Black Ink Clansman?”
The ‘Fierce Wind Estate’ that D-4 mentioned was most likely the territory of a Black Ink Feudal Lord. In that case, a Black Ink Clansman who not only served under a Feudal Lord but was also quite strong could only be a High-Rank Black Ink Clansman.
Yang Kai originally guessed that this Black Ink Clansman was equivalent to a Sixth-Order Open Heaven Realm Master in terms of strength, and it would seem he was correct.
D-4 also nodded in affirmation, “Master is indeed a High-Rank Black Ink Clansman!”
Along the way, Yang Kai casually chatted with D-4 and discovered that the situation was just as D-4 described. The Black Ink Clansman was relatively easy to get along with. Even though he noticed his servants chattering away behind him, he showed no intention to stop them.
Although Yang Kai’s murderous intent surged countless times, he did not dare to act rashly. This place was the hinterland of the Black Ink Clan, and if he was not careful, he would easily expose his identity. What’s more, he would occasionally come across other Black Ink Clansmen every once in a while. There were not many chances for him to take action, so he could only grit his teeth and endure.
A few days later, a patch of land covered in Black Ink Clouds appeared in their field of vision. It was an incredibly enormous Spirit Province with dense Black Ink Clouds that permeated the void for hundreds of thousands of kilometres.
Yang Kai once saw an object in the void that was similar to a huge flower bud from a distance. There was one on this Spirit Province too, and it stood tall in the middle of the Spirit Province. When the flower bud relaxed and opened, dense Black Ink Strength gushed out from within.
D-4, who had been travelling side-by-side with Yang Kai all this while, quietly poked Yang Kai in the arm, “This is Fierce Wind Estate, and the Feudal Lord in charge is named Kuang Feng.”
A look of realization appeared on Yang Kai’s face. A Feudal Lord was a Black Ink Clansman equivalent to a Seventh-Order Open Heaven Realm Master in strength.
“What is that?” Unable to suppress the questions in his heart, Yang Kai asked a question while staring at the black flower bud.
D-4 glanced at Yang Kai curiously, “Don’t you know about the Black Ink Nests?”
Yang Kai had already prepared his excuse in advance, “It has not been long since I came to the Black Ink Battlefield, so I don’t know much.”
D-4 understood and explained, “Black Ink Nests are the foundation of the Black Ink Clan. It is also the place where Black Ink Clansmen come from; therefore, all Black Ink Nests are extremely important to the Black Ink Clan.”
Yang Kai’s expression froze, [That’s the place where the Black Ink Clan come from?]
He had caught a glimpse of many Black Ink Nests throughout his journey. If a Black Ink Nest could give birth to Black Ink Clansmen, then how could the Black Ink Clan be annihilated completely?
He couldn’t help asking in puzzlement, “The Black Ink Clan are born from this?”
D-4 nodded, “The Black Ink Clan do not have any reproductive ability whatsoever; all of them are born from the Black Ink Nests. Moreover, the Black Ink Nests have the ability to devour everything in existence. No matter the object, it can be transformed into nutrients for the Black Ink Nests as long as they contain energy. Once there are enough nutrients, a Black Ink Clansman will be born and Black Ink Strength will be released. The Black Ink Strength is the foundation for increasing the cultivation of the Black Ink Clansmen. Of course, they also love to devour World Force as doing so will improve their cultivation greatly.”
Yang Kai nodded in understanding and stared deeply in the direction of the Black Ink Nest.
During their conversation, they arrived above the Fierce Wind Estate. This place was overflowing with Black Ink Strength, and the entire world seemed to be shrouded in shadows.
There were large buildings scattered throughout the Fierce Wind Estate. These buildings were built in a crude and rough style, which clearly showcased the nature of the Black Ink Clan. That was not difficult to understand though as many Black Ink Clansmen had a large stature, so it was not surprising that their buildings were also big.
Along the wide and spacious streets, large Black Ink Clansmen came and went. There were many of them. While most of them travelled alone, some of them were accompanied by their servants. Be that as it may, their numbers were not high. Some only had one while others had two or three servants with them.
It was very rare to see a Black Ink Clansman with five servants like Yang Kai’s situation. For that reason, the Black Ink Clansman walking in front attracted lots of attention everywhere he went. Moreover, many of those gazes were filled with envy.
This situation caused the leading Black Ink Clansman to become increasingly proud. He walked with an air of arrogance, as though nobody in the world was superior to him.
Yang Kai looked around and his expression showed some uncertainty. That was because he discovered that there were buildings similar to shops lining both sides of the street. In addition, there was a wide assortment of items being sold, many of which were actually resources needed for the cultivation of Human cultivators.
“The Black Ink Clan does business?” After holding back for a long time, Yang Kai finally couldn’t take it and secretly asked D-4 about this matter.
D-4 smiled and said, “These items are naturally useless to the Black Ink Clan, but they are useful to us. We may serve as Master’s servants and our lives may lie in his hands, but it will also benefit Master if our strength improves. We can help him gain more servants on the battlefield, help him devour more World Force, and ensure his safety; therefore, we will also benefit if we serve a good master as they will help us improve our strength.”
That was the same reason why Black Ink Disciples like Meng Qi were allowed to enter the Sealed World before the Black Ink Clan.
Meng Qi also mentioned that the Black Ink Clan wanted the Black Ink Disciples under their command to be as strong as possible. In any case, it was impossible for the Black Ink Disciples to betray their masters once they were corrupted by Black Ink Strength, so their loyalty would never be an issue.
That was why the Black Ink Disciples were allowed to enter the Sealed World first so that they could search for treasures and improve their strength. Only after that would the Black Ink Feudal Lords enter the Sealed World to devour the World Force.
However, Yang Kai focused on something else instead. Something D-4 said had given him the hope of escaping from the Black Ink Clan!
All Black Ink Clansmen were bound to return to the battlefield sooner or later, so as long as he waited patiently, he would eventually find a chance to escape or kill them when he followed them out to war. Then, he could meet up with the Masters from the Cave Heavens and Paradises and head for the nearest great pass.
As soon as that thought crossed his mind, all the worries that had been plaguing him immediately disappeared. Yang Kai knew that what he needed to do now was to wait patiently until the opportunity to follow the Black Ink Clan onto the battlefield came!
Meanwhile, D-4 was still chattering away, “Also, Master currently lacks a flight type artifact. If he wants to obtain one, he has to buy the materials and hire somebody to refine the artifact for him. Nonetheless, their businesses are not only for Black Ink Disciples like us. The Black Ink Clan themselves also have business dealings among each other.”
Yang Kai nodded in response.
During their conversation, the Black Ink Clansman led them into a shop. Inside the shop, another Black Ink Clansman greeted him. They seemed to be familiar with each other and chatted happily for a while.
Yang Kai looked around and found that the store had everything, including artifacts for cultivators, pills, and even some high-quality cultivation resources. These items were common in the 3,000 Worlds.
What attracted his attention were numerous objects the size of a head that resembled crystal balls. There were not many of these objects, only a dozen or so in total. Moreover, they were placed in the most conspicuous locations.
Before Yang Kai and the others arrived, there were already several Black Ink Clansmen gathered around the crystal balls. They were scrutinising these balls with greedy expressions, as though they were very useful to them.
Yang Kai glanced at the crystal balls, but could not figure out anything from them. All he could see was that something was flowing within them. Secretly releasing his Divine Sense, he investigated the crystal balls and immediately frowned in response. Although he did not dare to be presumptuous, in that moment of investigation, he seemed to have noticed an extremely intense World Force inside the crystal ball!
“Be careful!” D-4 noticed his actions and quickly warned him.
In a place where the Black Ink Clan was gathered, there was a high possibility of provoking an ill-tempered Black Ink Clansman by suddenly releasing his Divine Sense to probe the surroundings. If that were to happen, their Black Ink Clan Master would not defend them.
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Many thanks for the chapter, as always.