Chapter 5826, The Situation Translator: Silavin & June Translation Checker: PewPewLazerGun Editor and Proofreader: Leo of Zion Mountain & Dhael Ligerkeys Yang Kai was thought to be trapped in the Universe Furnace and there had been no contact from him for over 600 years, so whether he was alive or dead was unknown. This was undoubtedly a blow to the Human Race, especially with the ongoing war between them and the Black Ink Clan. While there were a few Ninth-Order Masters among the Human Race now, none of them had the total suppressive advantages over the Pseudo-Royal Lords in battles, not even the veterans like Xiao Xiao and Wu Qing. In Mi Jing Lun’s understanding, the only one who could possibly achieve this was Yang Kai! Back when the Black Ink Clan was holding their ground in the Great Territory Battlefields, the war would not have been this difficult if Yang Kai was around. Mi Jing Lun originally thought that he might have to wait until the next opening of the Universe Furnace for Yang Kai to have a chance to escape, but unexpectedly, he appeared before him right at this moment. Mi Jing Lun was extremely surprised and couldn’t help but ask, “How did you escape from the Universe Furnace?” “Universe Furnace?” Yang Kai was taken aback at first but quickly realised that Mi Jing Lun must have misunderstood something. It was understandable since he had been out of contact for so many years, so the logical assumption was that he was trapped in the Universe Furnace. He couldn’t hold back his laughter as he explained, “I wasn’t trapped in the Universe Furnace. Rather, it took me to the edge of the Universe, and I had to spend quite some time returning.” “The edge of the Universe?” Mi Jing Lun looked puzzled. “It’s a long story,” Yang Kai waved his hand, not wanting to talk about it as the war between the two Races was the more crucial issue now. Even if others knew the Universe Furnace created all Universe Worlds from Chaos, it was of no use to them. It could at most broaden their horizons, but hearing about it second-hand was not nearly as shocking as witnessing it personally. Though Mi Jing Lun didn’t ask any further, he had doubts in his mind. Where exactly was the edge of the Universe, and how far away must it have been for Yang Kai to take hundreds of years to return even with his abilities? After composing himself, Mi Jing Lun said, “You’re back just in time. There are some things that I need you to do.” 𝙛𝒓𝒆𝙚𝒘𝒆𝓫𝙣𝓸𝙫𝓮𝒍.𝒄𝒐𝓶 He and many of his staff members were discussing a battle in a certain Great Territory that was in a worrying state as they didn’t have enough manpower to mobilize to support it. As such, Yang Kai’s return was quite timely. Yang Kai nodded and said, “Just give me the order, Senior Brother.” “Come inside and we’ll talk,” Mi Jing Lun held Yang Kai’s arm and led him into the Main Hall. After a while, everyone took their seats. “Let me tell you about the current war situation,” Mi Ling Jun spoke. Yang Kai nodded, as he urgently needed to understand what was going on right now. The two sides had been at war since the Universe Furnace appeared, and it had been over 600 years since its closure. Yang Kai had no idea how the war had progressed during this time, or what the situation was like currently. He did ask Zhan Wu Hen before, but the latter’s understanding was not comprehensive enough so they did not talk about it in detail. Naturally, the Supreme Headquarters had the most in-depth understanding of the situation. Mi Jing Lun then gave a brief account of the hundreds of years of war. It was only now that Yang Kai learned that the Human Race had regained not just the dozen or so original Great Territory Battlefields, but an additional 200 or so Great Territories. However, Yang Kai immediately felt that something was wrong. Even if the Human Race had produced several Ninth-Order Masters and many Eighth-Order Masters in the Universe Furnace, increasing their strength greatly, that shouldn’t have been sufficient to produce such outstanding results. With his previous understanding of the Black Ink Clan’s background and forces, Yang Kai initially believed that the battle between the two sides would still be raging on the various Great Territory Battlefields. After all, the Black Ink Clan must now have dozens of Pseudo-Royal Lords, so it should have been impossible to reclaim so many Great Territories even though there were quite a number of Ninth-Order Masters in the Human Race. Yang Kai didn’t understand until he heard Mi Jing Lun mention Mo Na Ye. The Black Ink Clan retreated to advance, lengthening the Human Race’s battle lines and dispersing their Army’s strength. Losing 200 or so Great Territories was not a significant detriment to the Black Ink Clan while the Human Race Army had to leave some troops behind to defend these places in order to prevent the Black Ink Clan from reoccupying them and cutting off the front lines from the rear. This was open intrigue by the Black Ink Clan, but Mi Jing Lun could do nothing even if he saw through their intentions. As a result, he could only try his best to keep the various Human Race Armies steady and not reveal any vulnerabilities. Over the years, the Black Ink Clan had taken many actions against the recovered Great Territories; however, they were mostly minor skirmishes that did not make much of an impact and were ultimately quashed by the stationed soldiers. Mi Jing Lun also informed Yang Kai that Xiao Xiao and Wu Qing were finally freed, and his hidden hand had been played. In the Barren Territory, four Giant Spirit Gods were currently engaged in a brutal deathmatch. This was not surprising to Yang Kai. The Black Ink Clan couldn’t keep their trapped Black Ink Giant Spirit God unused. For them, the power that the Black Ink Giant Spirit God provided was simply too great. So, once the two sides went to war, the Black Ink Clan would find a way to release their trapped deity. Xiao Xiao and Wu Qing’s strength was not enough to restrain a Master of that calibre, but the hidden hand that Yang Kai left behind happened to be able to counter it. “Speaking of which, the great battle in the Barren Territory has caused quite a lot of trouble for the Black Ink Clan.” A grin appeared on Mi Jing Lun’s face, “Since the Black Ink Clan captured the No-Return Pass, that place has been their foundation. In the past, the Black Ink Clan had a large number of troops and resources transported from the No-Return Pass to the frontlines on a near-daily basis, but now that the great battle of four Giant Spirit Gods has affected the entire Barren Territory, the troops passing through that area often suffer losses from the fallout. Although it’s not a significant attrition, in recent years, the Black Ink Clan has lost at least 20% of their troops in the Barren Territory, which has eased some of the pressure on us.” Yang Kai couldn’t help but raise his brow, “There’s such a fortunate event?” He didn’t expect this turn of events. Initially, he only wanted to leave Ah Da to deal with the trapped Black Ink Giant Spirit God; however, now he realised that he had stumbled into some additional good fortune. It made sense once he thought about it, though. The battle between Giant Spirit Gods was Heaven-shaking and Earth-destroying, and as the Black Ink Clan’s Army set out from the No-Return Pass, they would inevitably have to pass through the Barren Territory. Anyone caught in the aftermath of such a battle would definitely not have a good end. It was only natural that the Black Ink Clan were troubled by this, but since it was a Giant Spirit Gods’ battle, it was doubtful anyone could intervene. Now, the Human Race had 12 main Armies, but only six of them had a Ninth-Order Master leading them. Luo Ting He led the Azure Sun Army, Xiang Shan the Blood Flame Army, Ou Yang Lie the Profound Nether Army, Wei Jun Yang the Lang Ya Army, Xiao Xiao the Soaring Cloud Army, and Wu Qing the Purple Feather Army. The remaining six Armies were Shocking Thunder, Red Flame, Burning Moon, Twin Instrument, Azure Dawn, and Jade Cicada. “Although I had dispatched many Divine Spirits to assist the latter six Armies, they are still lacking in comparison to the others, especially the Red Flame Army, which is now in a standoff with the Black Ink Clan in the E-5 Great Territory.” Saying so, Mi Jing Lun pointed his finger casually, and the huge Universe Chart in front of him suddenly expanded, presenting a map of the void with the E-5 Great Territory on it. Not every Great Territory in the 3,000 Great Territories had a distinct namesake. Just like High Heaven Territory, it used to only have a code name because there were no powerful Sects present, nor did the people inside have the ability to break free from the constraints of their Universe Worlds. It was not until the Star Boundary rose to fame, and because Yang Kai was from it, that the Territory hosting the Star Boundary was re-named High Heaven Territory. Similarly, the New Great Territory was also just a code name in the Universe Chart. However, the Myriad Monsters World in the New Great Territory now had the qualifications to represent it. Perhaps in the future, when the Universe Chart was updated, the New Great Territory would be christened the Myriad Monsters Territory. Only when a Great Territory had a powerful Great Force as a hegemon would it be named after that force. E-5 Territory was a barren Great Territory. Although there were a few Universe Worlds, there were no Second Class Great Forces. The cultivation of the top Masters in the few Universe Worlds there was not even comparable to that of the Star Boundary in its early years. Back when the Black Ink Clan invaded E-5 Territory, the living beings in those few Universe Worlds were almost all butchered. Now, the Red Flame Army had arrived and was fighting for control of this Great Territory while the Black Ink Clan was deploying their troops to resist. Looking at the Universe Chart, red and black light occupied roughly half of the Territory each. The red represented the Red Flame Army, and the black represented the Black Ink Clan. “The Black Ink Clan has clearly been waiting for this moment after giving up so many Great Territories. We suspect they are preparing a full counterattack against the Red Flame Army. In recent years, the Black Ink Clan has been mobilising their Masters to E-5 Territory, and in the last war, the Red Flame Army was already having a difficult time holding on while suffering many casualties. If we continue like this, without more support, the Red Flame Army won’t hold on for much longer.” Yang Kai nodded lightly and asked, “Senior Brother Mi, do you want me to assume command of the Red Flame Army?” Mi Jing Lun nodded, “Originally, we planned to retreat from E-5 and re-distribute the Red Flame Army into the other 11 if we couldn’t hold on. But since you’re back, it would be better to hand the Red Flame Army over to you.” After Yang Kai pondered about it for a moment, he said, “I don’t have any objections, but I have some ideas of my own.” Mi Jing Lun gestured for him to continue, “Please share.” “When I led Profound Nether in Profound Nether Territory, there were no Black Ink Clansmen who dared to cause trouble. If I take over the Red Flame Army, obviously the Black Ink Clan won’t dare to provoke us anymore. In this way, wherever Red Flame goes, the Black Ink Clan will surely retreat and avoid it. Even so, if we can’t kill more Black Ink Clan Masters, it would be meaningless to occupy more Great Territories.” Mi Jing Lun nodded and responded, “Our goal now is to kill, especially the Pseudo-Royal Lords. The number of Pseudo-Royal Lords is limited, so if we can kill enough of them, they won’t have the capital to fight us anymore.” “If that’s the case, it would be better for me to act alone.” Mi Jing Lun was momentarily taken aback before considering carefully and then nodded, “That’s true.” Yang Kai taking command of the Red Flame Army would undoubtedly allow it to soar like a Dragon diving into the sea, leaving the Black Ink Clan no room to act recklessly in front of them. However, managing an Army would also be a drag on Yang Kai. If he acted alone, it would undoubtedly be more convenient. Unlike the other Ninth-Order Masters, Yang Kai was proficient in Dao of Space, so even if he travelled from one battlefield to the next, the amount of time spent in transit would actually be quite small. As the two conversed, the rest of the staff sat quietly to the side, listening in amazement. Among the numerous Ninth-Order Masters, the person in front of them was probably the only one who could laugh and treat the Black Ink Clan as if they were insignificant. But, everyone knew that this was not arrogance but extreme self-confidence.