Chapter 4988, Not More Than Thrice Translator: Silavin & Qing Translation Checker: PewPewLazerGun Editor and Proofreader: Leo of Zion Mountain & Dhael Ligerkeys On the Black Ink Battlefield, Military Merits were extremely important. Not only could one exchange them for cultivation resources, artifacts, pills, or even techniques, one could also ask for guidance from powerful Masters. If one had enough Military Merits, they could even ask to be taught directly by an Old Ancestor. Of course, the costs for such opportunities were basically unaffordable for the average cultivator. A Warship like the one before Yang Kai naturally needed a massive amount of Military Merits to construct. Basically, every Squad and Battalion would slowly customize their Warship in order to best fit its members. Moreover, the members of the Squad or Battalion were happy to spend their Military Merits on such things because a better Warship would give them a better chance of survival and make it easier to kill the enemy. Since Yang Kai was new to Blue Sky Pass, of course he didn’t know about these things; however, Feng Ying knew them very well. Yang Kai was Dawn’s Squad Leader, so she had spent his Military Merits without batting an eyelid. Yang Kai had no objection to this of course and nodded, “Good. My Military Merits aren’t of much use to me anyways, so this is just the right thing to use them on.” While others might need to exchange Military Merits for cultivation materials, he didn’t as he had enough to cultivate until he reached the Eighth-Order Open Heaven Realm with extra left over. After taking a few more looks at it, Yang Kai suddenly became serious, “But what are we going to do with this Warship? The Black Ink Clan has been driven back, and wasn’t it said that they wouldn’t return for at least 100 years?” Feng Ying laughed, “It’s true that the Black Ink Clan has retreated, but they will definitely return, so we will need this Warship at that time. Moreover, after every battle, Blue Sky Pass will send out some personnel to collect cultivation resources and monitor the Black Ink Clan’s movements, which requires approaching, if not entering Black Ink Clan territory.” Yang Kai’s eyes lit up and he parroted, “Gathering cultivation materials and spying on the Black Ink Clan?” Nodding, Feng Ying added, “While you were busy with the Purifying Black Ink Battleships, others have been carrying out these tasks, generally with Squads as a unit; after all, the Black Ink Clan just suffered a serious defeat a few years ago and is still recuperating. As long as one doesn’t venture too deep into Black Ink Clan territory, there is basically no danger. On top of that, if you come across Black Ink Clansmen while gathering resources, you might even be able to earn more Military Merits.” Yang Kai couldn’t help but feel eager, so he quickly asked, “Are these tasks assigned to specific Squads or can anyone go?” Glancing at him, Feng Ying immediately knew what he was thinking and she smiled and replied, “As long as you apply, you will not be rejected.” Yang Kai suddenly said with excitement, “Have we applied?” “Don’t we have to wait for you?” Feng Ying glared at him. At that comment, Yang Kai nodded, “Good, very good. Martial Aunt, let’s go apply now.” The smile on Feng Ying’s face slowly faded before she said with some concern, “We can apply, but I’m not sure if the Army Commanders will let us go.” “Let’s give it a try, if they don’t let us go, I’ll find the Army Commanders and talk to them directly.” Yang Kai suddenly remembered one more thing, “By the way, how many people have you recruited for our Squad?” Immediately after Dawn was ordered to be established, Yang Kai started to work on the Universe Cave Heavens and Universe Paradises outside of Blue Sky Pass. Later, he was busy with the Purifying Black Ink Battleships, so he didn’t have time to deal with this matter and instead left it in Feng Ying’s hands. Therefore, he didn’t know how many members they had and who they were. “I’m almost done recruiting members. I’ll have them meet with you later so we can all get to know each other better.” After she said that, she pointed at the cabin, “I left a space inside for you to arrange a Universe Array, and I have prepared the materials necessary, so you can work on that first. Also, you have to name this Warship.” “Martial Aunt, you’re too thoughtful,” Yang Kai reached out and took the Space Ring from Feng Ying. A few moments later, she left, probably to apply for the mission, while Yang Kai stayed in the square and entered the cabin to set up a Universe Array in the space that was left for him. As he had been arranging Universe Arrays for 400 Purifying Black Ink Battleships for a few years, Yang Kai was now traversing on a familiar path. In just a few days, the Warship’s Universe Array was operational, and Yang Kai had branded the large ship’s bow with two large characters. Dawning Light! After putting the ship into his Small Universe, Yang Kai returned to Feng Ying’s place. Half a day later, Dawn Squad’s members arrived and met with him. Shen Ao, Ning Qi Zhi, and Qi Tai Chu were the three Seventh-Order Open Heaven Realm Masters who fought their way back from the Black Ink Clan with Yang Kai and Feng Ying. As for the rest, there were 30 others who had been enlisted. When Yang Kai was appointed as Dawn’s Squad Leader, Zhong Liang publicly announced to the Inner Sanctum that any cultivator under the Eighth-Order Open Heaven Realm that Yang Kai chose could join his Squad, and the limit for that Squad was 50 people. In other words, if Yang wanted to, he could create a Squad with 50 Seventh-Order Open Heaven Realm Masters. However, if he did that, it would be a waste of manpower because there was no need for a Seventh-Order Open Heaven Realm Master to manipulate a Warship. Fifth and Sixth-Order Open Heaven Realm Masters would suffice for such roles. Thus, under careful consideration, in addition to the three Yang Kai had previously mentioned, Feng Ying did not take in any more Seventh-Order Masters. The other 30 members were all in the Fifth and Sixth-Order. The entire Dawn Squad’s configuration, including Yang Kai and Feng Ying, was 5 Seventh-Order Masters, 20 Sixth-Order Masters, and 10 Fifth-Order Masters. Such a configuration was quite reasonable; not only would it not reduce Dawn’s combat power, but it also wouldn’t squander valuable human resources. Moreover, the 5 Seventh-Order Open Heaven Realm Masters in the team were enough to ensure Dawn Squad’s fighting capability. Feng Ying kept the remaining 15 slots empty so they could recruit members they needed when suitable opportunities arose. What’s more, everyone here was someone Yang Kai brought back from the Black Ink Clan’s domain; therefore, they were already quite familiar with each other. In Feng Ying’s courtyard, a banquet was prepared, and the atmosphere was lively as everyone exchanged pleasantries and drinks. If it hadn’t been for Yang Kai’s help in dispersing the Black Ink Strength within them, they would have still been working for the Black Ink Clan and would likely have died on the battlefield during the last war. They thought about their future battles, like how they would kill the Black Ink Clan and spread Dawn Squad’s reputation far and wide. After a few rounds of drinks, some began to sing, which attracted cheers from the others. At that moment, Feng Ying’s expression suddenly changed. She took out the communication artifact, looked at it, and looked at Yang Kai with a helpless expression. Noticing her gaze, Yang Kai turned his head to look at her, “What is it?” Feng Ying said, “Our request to sortie on a mission has been rejected.” The noisy courtyard instantly fell silent. They were just chatting about Dawn Squad’s future fame, but now their request to go out mission was denied. How could they realise their dreams if they couldn’t even leave Blue Sky Pass? Generally speaking, such requests wouldn’t be denied. In the years after the great battle, countless Squads would leave the Great Pass to go out on missions. As long as they were prepared, their applications would be accepted; after all, the Black Ink Clan had suffered a crushing defeat in the Blue Sky Theatre and were now busy recuperating. As long as they took great care and did not wander too deep into the Black Ink Clan’s territory or encounter a strong enemy by accident, they wouldn’t be in any danger. However, everyone knew that the reason why Dawn’s request was denied was because of Yang Kai. During the previous war, the Army Commanders did not dare to let Yang Kai freely set foot on the battlefield, but he snuck out and upended the entire situation alone, forcing Zhong Liang to borrow troops from the other three Armies. Although a series of lucky coincidences allowed them to expose the Royal Lord’s resting place and aided them in achieving a great victory, that was only a random bout of good fortune, not a carefully planned out strategy. How many lucky coincidences could one person have? The Army Commanders and the other higher-ups did not feel safe letting Yang Kai leave Blue Sky Pass. If they had a chance, they wouldn’t even want Yang Kai to take one step outside the Inner Sanctum. While the crowd fell silent, Yang Kai drank his glass of wine in one gulp and coldly snorted, “I expected as much. I’ll go make my case to the Army Commanders!” After saying that, he stood up and flew off into the sky. A short while later, in front of Zhong Liang’s office, Yang Kai landed straight down from above. Someone was guarding the door and stopped Yang Kai. Yang Kai explained his intention and asked the guard to report his arrival to Zhang Liang. Moments later, the guard came out, cupped his fist, and said, “Brother Yang, the Army Commander is busy at the moment and won’t see any guests.” Frowning, Yang Kai asked, “When will the Army Commander be finished?” The guard shook his head and answered, “I don’t know. Why don’t you go back and wait?” Yang Kai took a deep look at the hall in front of him, pondered for a moment, and then nodded, “Fine, many thanks.” Then, he turned around and left. Inside the hall, Zhong Liang sat behind the long table while perceiving the situation outside with his Divine Sense. Yang Kai was gone, but the direction he left in seemed to not be the way back to Feng Ying’s residence. It seemed like the way to the Eastern Army’s headquarters. Knowing that the brat was probably going to find Ding Yao after not seeing him, Zhong Liang snorted lightly and took out a communication artifact to send a message to Ding Yao. A few moments later, Yang Kai arrived at Ding Yao’s office and asked to see him, but the guard there didn’t even go inside to inform Ding Yao. Instead, the guard told Yang Kai that Ding Yao was not in Blue Sky Pass and that he did not know where he had gone or when he would return. Yang Kai was speechless. He went looking for Zhong Liang, but couldn’t see him because the latter was busy, and now he couldn’t find Ding Yao because he was out. Yang Kai began to suspect he wouldn’t be able to see the other two Army Commanders either. As Yang Kai expected, when he went to see Liang Yu Long and Shen Tu Mo, the guards at their doors also told Yang Kai that the Army Commanders were not in the Inner Sanctum, and their whereabouts and return dates were unknown. At this point, Yang Kai knew they were intentionally avoiding him, and they wouldn’t give him any chance of meeting them. That realization made Yang Kai furious, and he thought that the tricks those four old men were playing were too shameless. Shut out from all directions, he had no choice but to return to his residence. The next day, Yang Kai asked to see Zhong Liang again, but he still failed. On the following day, Yang Kai went to see Zhong Liang for a third time only to be told by the guard there that Zhong Liang had left the Great Pass as well… Yang Kai was so angry he thought he was about to explode. After lingering in front of the door for a long time, he finally clenched his teeth, opened his mouth, and shouted, “Army Commander, I won’t do things more than thrice. Since you won’t see me after I’ve been asking to meet you so many times, I’ll gather my men now and leave the pass!”