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Translator: Silavin & VictorN
Translation Checker: PewPewLazerGun
Editor and Proofreader: Leo of Zion Mountain & Dhael Ligerkeys
The Black Ink Clan had tried to use the Four Gates Eight Palaces Great Pagoda Array several times to deal with Yang Kai, so naturally he was prepared for this. Even before he entered the No-Return Pass alone, Yang Kai considered the possibility of this Grand Array being set up to trap him.
However, Yang Kai was not worried about such trifles now.
He would have been wary of a Heaven Sealing Earth Locking Array 700 hundred years ago as, at that time, if the local Space he was in was really isolated, he would be in a lot of trouble. Unless he killed all the Black Ink Clansmen inside and broke open the Array, it would be impossible for him to use Instantaneous Movement to escape.
But he was not the same as back then!
In the Universe Furnace, he had broken through to the Ninth-Order Master and his strength had dramatically increased after his retreat over the past 20 years.
In addition, Yang Kai refined and devoured various Dao Strengths in the Infinite River in the Universe Furnace World. It was also there that he realized his own Space-Time River was actually the condensed manifestation of all his Dao Strengths. With the power of the Space-Time River, Yang Kai could easily break through the Heaven Sealing Earth Locking Array arranged by the Black Ink Clan, ruining their plans.
Another point was that this Array was only made by some Black Ink Disciples with mediocre attainments in the Dao of Spirit Arrays at best; thus, the Array they produced was not too effective.
If it had been the Great Grandmaster of the Human Race that devised and set up an array to use against Yang Kai, it would have been more troublesome, but the Four Gates Eight Palaces Great Pagoda Array was still easy to break free from.
From the start of the battle today, Yang Kai could have broken the Array at any moment he chose to. What he said about ‘let’s see how many of your Masters can I kill before I fall’ before the fighting started was simply meant to mislead Mo Na Ye.
Mo Na Ye was absolutely shocked the moment the Heaven Sealing Earth Locking Array was shattered. He did not know much about Spirit Arrays, so he did not expect this one, which he had such high hopes for, to not affect Yang Kai at all.
As such, he and the three Pseudo-Royal Lords who had teamed up with him launched a desperate attack.
This seemed to be a worsening situation, and it was obviously unwise to continue after knowing that it was impossible to contain Yang Kai; however, considering that Yang Kai was also feigning weakness, there was no reason why Mo Na Ye would choose not to take advantage of him when he seemed to be suffering backlash from some kind of sacrificial Secret Technique.
Murderous thoughts flashed through his mind, but Yang Kai suppressed his urge to kill Mo Na Ye here and now; instead, he just summoned a bit of strength to block Mo Na Ye’s blow, making it appear as if the two of them were now evenly matched.
The three Pseudo-Royal Lords in their Formation also attacked from the side, but Yang Kai simply thrust his spear out to force them back.
A single thrust was enough to block these three; after all, Yang Kai was stronger than the other Ninth-Order Masters and Royal Lords by a large margin. Even though he was busy fending off Mo Na Ye, the power of this spear could not be underestimated by the three Pseudo-Royal Lords.
However, as Yang Kai swung his spear, the leader of the three Pseudo-Royal Lords actually raised his hand to block the blow…
The moment contact was made, the Pseudo-Royal Lord’s aura changed subtly!
Yang Kai could not help but be stunned for a moment and quickly cursed in his heart. Even though he had been careful enough, he did not expect to fall for Mo Na Ye’s tricks in the end.
He had to admit that Mo Na Ye was a cunning and highly intelligent foe.
The main reason for this admiration was that Yang Kai had realized that the Pseudo-Royal Lord, who was leading the charge towards him, was not a Pseudo-Royal Lord. He was a true Royal Lord!
This caught him off guard; however, Yang Kai was ready for such surprises.
When he came to the No-Return Pass more than 20 years ago, Yang Kai realized that new Royal Lords would soon be born in the Black Ink Clan, and over the past 20 or so years, the Humans managed to gain two new Ninth-Order Masters, so how could the Black Ink Clan lag behind? It was not certain a new Royal Lord had risen, but there was still a good chance at least one had appeared.
When Mo Na Ye answered Yang Kai’s probing question previously, it was difficult for him to conclude anything; however, he still held the mindset that he would rather believe that there was at least one more. With such a mindset, Yang Kai was constantly on guard against any unknown Royal Lord who might be lurking and waiting for an opportunity to strike.
He subconsciously felt that if a new Royal Lord appeared in the Black Ink Clan, he would be hiding somewhere, looking for an opening to attack him.
However, Mo Na Ye chose to hide the new Royal Lord in plain sight, among a group of Pseudo-Royal Lords!
There were not many differences in terms of the auras of a Royal Lord and a Pseudo-Royal Lord, what set the two apart was that a Pseudo-Royal Lord could not control their strength completely. As a result, a Pseudo-Royal Lord could only exert about 70 to 80 percent of their full strength, despite possessing the foundation of an actual Royal Lord.
It was like two identical wells of water, but the lengths of rope used to draw up water were different. Since one rope was shorter, it could not access the well’s entire water supply. This was the difference between a Pseudo-Royal Lord and a true Royal Lord.
This meant that as long as a true Royal Lord simply released his own aura wildly, it was basically impossible to differentiate him from a Pseudo-Royal Lord. Even if he was in a fight, as long as he intentionally held back part of his strength, he would not reveal any flaws.
So, it was only when he started to attack that Yang Kai realized that among these three ‘Pseudo-Royal Lords’, there was a true Royal Lord!
This was what Yang Kai did not expect. He had been distracted, monitoring the movement all around him, lest a Royal Lord suddenly popped out of nowhere; however, he never anticipated that a true Royal Lord was actually lurking right next to him this whole time.
This arrangement was extremely clever and was definitely Mo Na Ye’s idea.
According to Mo Na Ye’s instructions, three Pseudo-Royal Lords would join him in suppressing Yang Kai, and so far, several batches of Pseudo-Royal Lords had rotated in and out of this battle. After establishing a kind of routine, even if Yang Kai was that astute, he would gradually become blind to such a possibility.
Of course, Yang Kai was doing something similar in trying to conceal his abilities by feigning weakness. Consciously having to hold back was actually an additional burden on him which left him somewhat distracted.
There was no point in blaming himself at this point though. The two Royal Lords were close at hand with one of them in the midst of a violent attack. In Yang Kai’s current ‘weakened’ state, it was impossible to dodge the incoming blow.
Many thoughts flashed through his mind as Yang Kai as he weighed between continuing with the deception or revealing his true strength, counterattacking, and taking Mo Na Ye and the new Royal Lord by surprise. In the end, though, he restrained his murderous intent.
The next moment, the new Royal Lord’s fist found its way through Yang Kai’s guard and struck his chest.
This punch was so powerful that it almost caved Yang Kai’s chest in, and a mouthful of fresh golden blood spurted out, turning into a thick mist of blood.
Yang Kai swung his fist back to repel his new foe before sweeping at him with his spear, forcing the new Royal Lord to dodge out of the way.
Mo Na Ye was surprised that the Heaven Sealing Earth Locking Array was broken by Yang Kai, but his original plan still worked out, which made up for the embarrassment.
While Yang Kai was fighting with Di Ya Luo, he raised his hand and Black Ink Strength broke through the void, aiming at the back of the former’s head.
If this blow landed, it would be disastrous for Yang Kai!
Mo Na Ye appeared exuberant and eagerly awaited what was to come.
However, at this critical moment, Yang Kai unexpectedly swung his Azure Dragon Spear behind his head and blocked the fierce blow precisely.
Mo Na Ye immediately realized what was happening and yelled, “Don’t let him get away!”
As he shouted, he used his aura to shake the Void, and the nearby Black Ink Masters did the same.
However, when Mo Na Ye and Di Ya Luo pounced towards Yang Kai again, the latter’s figure faded away.
Without the Heaven Sealing Earth Locking Array, there was no way to limit Yang Kai’s Instantaneous Movement. Even Mo Na Ye’s aura could only interfere slightly with it.
As a result of the interference, Yang Kai showed up not far away and failed to completely escape from the No-Return Pass.
At this moment, he was in a terrible state with his chest sunken considerably and his body covered in blood. His aura was so diminished that it seemed like he might die at any moment.
However, Mo Na Ye knew Yang Kai very well. To a Divine Dragon, recovering from even such serious injuries was not an issue; the only way to ensure Yang Kai was dead, was to kill him on the spot.
Moreover, as soon as he saw Yang Kai’s current location which was close to the Territory Gate, he realized what his nemesis was planning.
At this moment, Yang Kai had only two options to flee. One was to break through the Black Ink Clan’s defence line and escape towards the Human Race Army. As long as the Humans sent some Masters to assist him, he could ensure his own safety.
He was able to sneak into the No-Return Pass silently with the help of Thunder Shadow’s Innate Divine Ability, but now that so many Masters from the Black Ink Clan were locked onto him, he could not escape using the same tactic. As such, it was difficult for him to sneak his way out of the No-Return Pass.
If he tried to fight his way out now though, Mo Na Ye would surely notice something was off and re-assess his strength.
Thus, he had only one option left, which was to escape via the Territory Gate which led to the Barren Territory!
Now this is more like the proper 5D schemer chess ^^
Hello!
Many thanks for the chapter, as always.