Chapter 4982, Dawn Translator: Silavin & Qing Translation Checker: PewPewLazerGun Editor and Proofreader: Leo of Zion Mountain & Dhael Ligerkeys Yang Kai nodded. He didn’t need to exchange for cultivation materials because he had already prepared enough of them before coming to the Black Ink Battlefield. The cultivation materials piled up in his Small Universe were enough for him to cultivate until the Eighth-Order Open Heaven Realm and still have some to spare. However, the War Materials Hall did have some good quality Spirit Pills, which would be used for quickly healing injuries, restoring strength, and accelerating cultivation. Thus, Yang Kai exchanged a small amount of his Military Merits for some pills to try out their effects. Meanwhile, Feng Ying also quickly exchanged for materials she needed. In Blue Sky Pass, each cultivator had their own living space, and the higher their rank, the better the conditions of their accommodations and the more extensive the area. Since Yang Kai was promoted to the position of Squad Leader, he was entitled to a small courtyard. Perhaps someone had forgotten about it or deliberately did it on purpose because though Yang Kai received a Letter of Appointment, he wasn’t actually assigned a place to stay. Fortunately for him, Feng Ying had a spacious place, and she didn’t mind sharing it with him. While Feng Ying returned to her place, Yang Kai went into retreat. Before he entered retreat, he took out most of the Profound Yin Bamboo from his Small Universe and gave it to Feng Ying so that she could hand it over for him. Having just broken through to the Seventh-Order Open Heaven Realm, Yang Kai needed some time to consolidate his cultivation and adapt to his new strength. For the next few months, Yang Kai would be in retreat and refining cultivation materials of all Orders to enhance the heritage of his Small Universe. When others cultivated, most of them would opt to use Open Heaven Pills. Even if there were some that chose to refine cultivation materials, their Orders wouldn’t be very high because they had to gather resources of all Seven Elements to be able to safely cultivate. If any of the seven materials were missing, there was a high chance of causing an imbalance in the cultivator’s Small Universe, which would lead to future dangers. While materials from the Five Elements were easy to find, Yin and Yang Element materials of higher Orders were rare and difficult to acquire. However, Yang Kai didn’t need to worry about this. The Yellow and Blue Crystals he obtained in the Chaotic Dead Territory were beyond count, and although they were essential for purifying and dispelling Black Ink Strength, it didn’t matter if he used a few of them for cultivation. That way, the speed of Yang Kai’s cultivation would be incomparably faster than others. In addition, he still had living beings inside his Small Universe, especially the countless Small Stone Race members, which were constantly enhancing the heritage of his Small Universe. Also, because he had cultivated the Dao of Time, the flow of time in his Small Universe was four times faster compared to the outside world. One year outside was equivalent to four years inside Yang Kai’s Small Universe. If he used that advantage well, it would save him a lot of time cultivating. One could imagine that the time Yang Kai needed to advance from Seventh-Order to Eighth-Order Open Heaven Realm in the future would be considerably shorter than average. Now that he had advanced from the Sixth-Order to the Seventh-Order Open Heaven Realm, the volume of his Small Universe had increased dramatically, and the amount of heritage he could hold had increased proportionally. According to his estimation, the heritage of a Seventh-Order Open Heaven Realm Master was at least 10 times more than that of a Sixth-Order Open Heaven Realm Master, and he had only just advanced. As time went by, his heritage would only grow stronger as he continued to cultivate. At this point, he deeply appreciated the huge gap between the Sixth and Seventh-Order Open Heaven Realms and was secretly glad that the Seventh-Order Open Heaven Realm Masters he had conflicts with were not very strong. If he had made an enemy of someone on Feng Ying’s level, he wouldn’t be alive today. Months later, the cultivation chamber’s seal was knocked on. Yang Kai woke from his meditation and opened the door with a wave of his hand. Right then, Feng Ying stepped inside and reported, “The battlefield has been cleaned, and Martial Uncle Zhong is waiting for you.” Yang Kai got up and said, “Let’s go.” A short while later, the two of them exited Blue Sky Pass. While looking around, they saw that all the Black Ink Clouds were cleared from the surrounding battlefield, and even the Small Universe fragments were disposed of. The whole void was now clear and empty. Only Zhong Liang was waiting for Yang Kai there. 𝒻𝘳𝘦𝘦𝘸ℯ𝒷𝘯𝘰𝑣ℯ𝑙.𝘤𝑜𝘮 When he saw them, he beckoned them over. Yang Kai and Feng Ying approached him and saluted. Zhong Liang nodded lightly and said, “I’ll leave it to you to find those Universe Cave Heavens and Universe Paradises that are not stained by Black Ink Strength. After you find one, leave the portal open and we’ll dispatch specialists to handle the rest.” Yang Kai cupped his fist and said, “Understood.” Zhong Liang nodded, “Many thanks to you for your hard work. After you are done with this, there is another matter you’ll need to handle. You will be quite busy for some time and won’t have much left to cultivate. Take care and don’t overwork yourself.” While saying so, he reached out and patted Yang Kai’s shoulder. Feeling doubtful, Yang Kai asked, “What other matter?” With his hands behind his back, Zhong Liang casually replied, “You’ll know eventually. There are still things I need to take care of in the Inner Sanctum, so I’ll be heading back now. Feng Ying will assist you. Let her know about anything you need.” After that, with a flicker, Zhong Liang rushed back to Blue Sky Pass in a stream of light. Yang Kai and Feng Ying watched him leave, and after his figure disappeared from view, Yang Kai turned his head to ask, “Martial Aunt, do you know what the other matter Senior Zhong was talking about is?” Feng Ying shook her head, “I’m not sure, but it’s probably related to Black Ink Strength somehow.” Although Yang Kai had advanced to the Seventh Order, there were many such Masters in Blue Sky Pass, so the matter Yang Kai needed to deal with was most likely related to Black Ink Strength. “But I did ask about your promotion to Squad Leader,” Feng Ying quickly changed the subject. “Really? What did the Army Commanders say?” Feng Ying replied, “Martial Uncle Zhong said that your identity is special, so you won’t belong to a specific Army or Division. The team you’ll be leading will be a Special Operations Squad, and we are currently the only members in it. In the future, we will only answer to the four Army Commanders directly. In addition, you can recruit anyone in Blue Sky Pass that is under the Eighth-Order Open Heaven Realm up to a limit of 50 people!” Hearing those words, Yang Kai raised his brow, “A Special Operations Squad?” This was quite a surprise to him, but it also showed how much the four Army Commanders valued him. Whether it was in Blue Sky Pass, or the other Great Passes, the structure of the army was basically pre-determined. A Squad had about 10 to 15 soldiers, while a Battalion had up to 100. The maximum number of personnel Yang Kai could have in his special squad was 50, which was equivalent to having half the strength of a Battalion. In addition, the Army Commanders allowed him to pick soldiers with strength below the Eight-Order Open Heaven Realm at will. In other words, if Yang Kai wanted to, he could create a squad with a lineup of 50 Seventh-Order Open Heaven Realm Masters. Such a lineup would be quite terrifying. If such a squad were to fight on the battlefield, it was very likely that they would produce unexpected results. Along with the power of a Warship, they could even kill a Territory Lord if they encountered one. Yang Kai questioned, “Didn’t the Army Commanders disagree with me entering the battlefield? What’s the point of having this special arrangement?” If they couldn’t fight, there would be no meaning for this Squad to exist. Feng Ying said with a smile, “They don’t want you to risk your life, but after what happened before, they probably know that you are the impatient type. If another war breaks out, there’s no way you will just stay still on the sidelines, and it’s impossible for them to always keep an eye on you, so rather than letting you find a way to sneak out on your own, it’s better to give you enough power to protect yourself. Moreover, you have already proven your strength. There aren’t any weaklings on the Black Ink Battlefield. Everyone going into battle has braved through many difficulties.” After listening to Feng Ying’s explanation, Yang Kai thought her words made sense. If another big battle broke out, it was impossible for him to stay out of it. Of course he had to fight. He even survived an attack from a Royal Lord, so there was almost nothing he needed to fear on the Black Ink Battlefield. “You were in retreat back then so I didn’t have the chance to tell you about it. If you have any suitable candidates in mind, do tell me, and we’ll see about recruiting them.” After thinking about it, Yang Kai said, “There were several Seventh-Order Masters who followed us back from the Black Ink Clan’s domain.” Feng Ying nodded, “Shen Ao, Ning Qi Zhi, and Qi Tai Chu. They are all quite strong.” All three of them were corrupted by Black Ink Strength and degenerated into Black Ink Disciples. After being saved by Yang Kai though, they each consumed a Profound Yin Spirit Fruit to repair their damaged Small Universes and fought their way back here. In a way, they were now companions who had braved life and death together. If Yang Kai and Feng Ying recruited the three of them, it would save them time familiarising themselves with each other. “I’ll head back and ask for their opinions. If they are willing to join us, I’ll report to the higher-ups and register them into our Squad. But before that, you have to decide on a name.” “A name?” Yang Kai asked. “Since it’s a Special Operations Squad, it has to have a name; otherwise, we won’t be able to register it.” “What do you have in mind?” Yang Kai asked curiously. Feng Ying smiled and said, “You are the Leader here, so you make the call.” Yang Kai squinted and looked into the depths of the void. All he saw was endless darkness, so after a long while, he finally spoke, “Dawn!” Feng Ying murmured, “Dawn, as in daybreak? I hope I can see that someday.” “I’m sure you will.” Yang Kai grinned at her, “It might be late, but dawn will definitely come.” After a pause, he urged, “Martial Aunt, I’ll have to trouble you with the recruitment of personnel for our Squad. Besides the three I just mentioned, if you have someone in mind, just ask them. Since we are a Special Operations Squad, we should focus on quality and not quantity. It’s better to have fewer elites than more troublemakers.” “I understand.” Feng Ying nodded, “You can rest assured that I will strictly screen everyone that I recruit.” Now that they had reached an agreement, Yang Kai began his search for Universe Cave Heavens and Universe Paradises to open. This was an extremely long process, and it took him almost half a year to get them all. With Blue Sky Pass as the centre, he had opened portals to all the Universe Cave Heavens and Paradises hidden in the Void within a 500,000 kilometres radius. However, many of the Universe Cave Heavens and Paradises had been stained by Black Ink Strength and could not be used, so Yang Kai had to re-seal them. After careful counting, Yang Kai found that there were about 1,000 Universe Cave Heavens and Universe Paradises that could be used. Yang Kai felt his heart sink when he realized this. One had to know that those who left these Universe Cave Heavens and Paradises behind were all High-Rank Open Heaven Realm Masters, so 1,000 corresponded to the fall of at least as many High-Rank Open Heaven Realm Masters.