Chapter 5211 – Collapse Translator: Silavin &Sara Translation Checker: PewPewLazerGun Editor and Proofreader: Leo of Zion Mountain & Dhael Ligerkeys Judging by the number of Black Ink Disciples there were on the battlefield now, it proved that not all of the Human soldiers who were part of the battle at Great Evolution Pass 30,000 years ago had been killed by the Black Ink Clan after the death of the Old Ancestor. The Black Ink Clan must have taken quite a number of them and turned them into Black Ink Disciples. There was no other way of explaining why so many Black Ink Disciples with High-Orders would appear in the Great Evolution Theatre. Why did all of the Cave Heavens and Paradises in the 3,000 Worlds classify everything that had to do with the Black Ink Clan? That was because Black Ink Strength was far too tempting for some people. As it was, once a person’s body was corrupted by Black Ink Strength, they would undergo a drastic change and become someone who served the Black Ink Clan above all else. In other words, they would become an entirely different person, but at the same time, the power that Black Ink Strength provided was enough to enable a cultivator to not be affected by the shackles of the Open Heaven Realm. With enough luck and resources, one could continue to cultivate all the way to the Ninth-Order Open Heaven Realm. How many Ninth-Order Masters had there been throughout history? Too few that even the most prominent of Cave Heavens and Paradises could easily count them with their fingers. With that being the case, it would be hard for cultivators who had reached the ceiling of their cultivation and failed to break through to not be swayed by the temptation of Black Ink Strength. Yuan Du, a Vice Sect Master of Lang Ya Paradise, was a Seventh-Order Open Heaven Realm Master. He knew very well the risks and dangers of Black Ink Strength, but even then, he could not overcome the temptation. In the end, he chose to become a Black Ink Disciple. Not only did he turn against his people but he even threatened the safety of his Sect. The Sect Master, Li Yuan Wang, had no choice but to kill Yuan Du himself. The fact that even the Vice Sect Master of Lang Ya Paradise succumbed to the draw of Black Ink Strength proved how hard it would be for most people to resist the temptation as well if the powers of Black Ink Strength became public knowledge in the 3,000 Worlds. Humans were always unpredictable. 30,000 years ago, the Great Evolution Old Ancestor died and the Great Pass was conquered. Most of the Human soldiers died on the battlefield, but a significant number of them must have been captured by the powerful members of the Black Ink Clan and turned into Black Ink Disciples. 30,000 years of peace was enough time for these Black Ink Disciples to cultivate and break through to a higher Order. They made full use of the prolonged period of time, which was enough to let a Sixth-Order Black Ink Disciple advance into the Eighth-Order Open Heaven Realm. Still, this kind of cultivation came with its own set of dangers. One false move could lead to the cultivator’s death while trying to break through to a higher Order than they would normally be able to reach, and even if the cultivator succeeded, the process would leave visible marks on their body that would clearly indicate they were no longer Human. This was the reason why Mi Jing Lun spotted so many Seventh-Order and Eighth-Order Black Ink Disciples on the battlefield. Although these Black Ink Disciples still had Human forms, most of them also had some abnormal characteristic that made them stand out. One of the Eighth-Order Black Ink Disciples had a large growth coming out of his shoulder, and from a distance, it looked as if he had two heads. Yet another Eighth-Order Black Ink Disciple had two tiny, fleshy wings growing out of his back. With one long and one short, the wings looked like knobbly chicken feet. One of the Seventh-Order Black Ink Disciples even had an extra arm growing out of his abdomen. He was creative enough to come up with a combat strategy that made use of his third arm and wielded three swords, one in each arm, making him quite a formidable force on the battlefield. All of the Black Ink Disciples who had these abnormal traits were those who relied on Black Ink Strength to break through their innate limitations. They would never have had the chance to advance any further, but after being corrupted by Black Ink Strength, they were able to explore an higher Martial Dao. The power that they exhibited was noticeably unstable though, and those around them could feel that it was frenzied and volatile. However, it was exactly due to the efforts of these Black Ink Disciples that the Humans could not gain a decisive victory with their current strategy. Originally, Mi Jing Lun and Ou Yang Lie assumed that since they had dozens of Eighth-Order Masters to deal with only slightly more than a dozen Territory Lords, the numbers would work in their favour and the Territory Lords would not be able to put up a fight. As long as the Division Commanders could gang up on the Territory Lords, they would surely be able to kill all of them fairly quickly. Once the Territory Lords were gone, the hundreds of thousands of Black Ink Clansmen would amount to nothing more than headless chickens, and the Humans could wipe them out with ease. However, it was the presence of numerous Eighth-Order Black Ink Disciples that foiled their plans. The Eighth-Order Black Ink Disciples were fearsome in their violent attacks, but the ferocity also proved that they did not have full control over their strength. In other words, these Eighth-Order Black Ink Disciples were not on even footing with the true Eighth-Order Masters. Their powers did not come from proper cultivation, and as a result, they were even weaker than ordinary Territory Lords. If it came down to a solo fight, any one of the Eighth-Order Division Commanders could easily defeat an Eighth-Order Black Ink Disciple. Even so, it would not be as easy to kill one. Furthermore, both the Territory Lords and the Eighth-Order Black Ink Disciples attacked without any restraint, not caring whether they injured or even killed their fellow Black Ink Clansmen in the process. On the other hand, the Eighth-Order Masters had to take great care not to harm their fellow Humans. Thus, when it came to the battle between the two parties’ top Masters, although the Humans still had the advantage, it was not a significant one and could not produce the result they had hoped for. As the fierce battle progressed, the casualties mounted on the side of the Black Ink Clan. The Humans also began to suffer more casualties, and there were even signs of Seventh-Order Masters dying on the battlefield. Mi Jing Lun frowned as this was not what he wanted to see. If things carried on like this, even if the Humans emerged victorious, it would still be at the cost of far too many lives, which would be a crushing blow to them. [We must break the deadlock as soon as possible to achieve our goal today.] After thinking in silence for a moment, his Divine Sense surged and in the next moment, five figures jumped out of the Battalion Class Warships around the Purifying Black Ink Battleship and joined the battlefield. These five were all Eighth-Order Open Heaven Realm Masters. Initially, their job was to stay with the Battalion Class Warships around the Purifying Black Ink Battleship and protect all of the non-combatants on board the ships; but now, it was time for them to make their move. Five Eighth-Order Open Heaven Realm Masters joining the battlefield was enough to change the tides of the battle between both parties’ apex cultivators. Once they found the opportunity to kill a few of the Eighth-Order Black Ink Disciples or even some Territory Lords, they could create a snowball effect and create an overwhelming advantage for the Humans. Still, this required time. Mi Jing Lun’s eyes next fell onto a different side of the battlefield, away from the battlefield between the Eighth-Order Masters and the Territory Lords. There was a solitary figure over there who was rampaging about. This person worked alone without teaming up with any of the Warships. All he had was a long spear in his hands, but wherever he passed, the Black Ink Clan would crumble. Even the Feudal Lords could not withstand a single blow from his spear. Naturally, it was Yang Kai. Ever since the battle started, Mi Jing Lun kept checking in on Yang Kai’s situation, yet the Eighth-Order Army Commander was shocked to find that despite his high regard for Yang Kai, he had still underestimated him. Yang Kai was only a Seventh-Order Master, but he was exhibiting powers that vastly exceeded what someone in the Seventh-Order should be capable of. This was the reason why he could breeze through the battlefield without any difficulty with no one able to stop him. Although Mi Jing Lun did not know much about Yang Kai, he had heard a lot of stories in the past. He knew that Yang Kai had made a name for himself across a number of battlefields, and he also knew that Yang Kai had a World Tree clone planted inside his Small Universe. Apparently, the World Tree clone had the unbelievable effect of purifying and enhancing World Force. From the looks of it now, the effects were even more astounding than Mi Jing Lun had expected as Yang Kai’s World Force was both dense and powerful enough that he could launch devastating attacks with great ease. Meanwhile, the five Eighth-Order Division Commanders joined the battle among the top Masters of both Armies and worked together to shift the momentum in the Human’s favour, though their efforts would take time to produce real results. Someone needed to break the stalemate that was happening between the two Armies’ forces that were below the Eighth-Order. That way, by gaining an advantage in both the top and bottom ranks, the Humans would be able to decimate the Black Ink Clan in the shortest amount of time possible! Yang Kai was the best person for that task! As soon as the thought flashed across Mi Jing Lun’s mind, his Divine Sense surged once more. Out on the battlefield, Yang Kai was immersed in the fervour of battle. It had been so long since he could throw caution to the wind and not hold himself back. Ever since the creation of Dawn, he would have to lead the Special Operation Squad into battle each time, and as the Squad Leader, he had to take a lot of concerns into account. This time though, he did not need to worry about anything, all he had to do was kill the enemy. He rushed headlong wherever the enemy gathered without having to worry about others failing to keep up with him. He did not have to worry about leading his people into a risky situation with no way out. With the use of Space Principles, his figure flitted about erratically, and as long as the Territory Lords did not get involved, no one among the Black Ink Clan was a threat to him. Naturally, not needing to worry about others also meant that no one was there to help him. Since the beginning of the battle, countless Black Ink Clansmen had died at his hands, but he also suffered a few injuries in the process. Regardless of how strong he was, Yang Kai could not avoid getting hit a few times in the chaos of the battlefield. Still, such injuries did not affect him too greatly, and the pain only increased his bloodlust. Just as the fighting was raging, a Warship suddenly approached. It did not look like the regular Squad Class Warship as it was a lot bigger and there were clear signs of numerous enhancements. It was the Warship that belonged to a Special Operations Squad! Dawn’s Dawning Light was an example of such a Warship. 8 Seventh-Order Open Heaven Realm Masters were gathered around the Warship, each of them radiating a formidable aura. They were covered in black blood and there was no telling how many Black Ink Clan soldiers they had killed. The one who took the lead was a young man with a dignified appearance, and his voice rang out across the distance, “Brother Yang, the Army Commander has ordered the Profound Wind Squad and the Snow Wolves Squad to work together with you to break the enemy lines!” Yang Kai thrust his spear out, and the resulting shadow pierced through a dozen of so Black Ink Clan soldiers in front of him. Once he withdrew his spear, he turned around and asked, “Where’s the Snow Wolves Squad?” The young man, who seemed to be the Profound Wind Squad Leader, pointed with his finger, “Over there. They can’t get away just yet!” “Follow my lead!” Yang Kai said before dashing in that direction with his spear sweeping through the enemies along the way. After being on the battlefield for so long, Yang Kai had already sensed the peculiarity of this particular war. The Black Ink Clan were not as weak as the Humans thought they were, and it was all due to the significant number of Seventh-Order and Eighth-Order Black Ink Disciples! Yang Kai was surprised by this too. He had encountered numerous Black Ink Disciples before and knew what the benefits and consequences were for these Black Ink Disciples who relied on Black Ink Strength for cultivation. At first, he thought that it would be immensely difficult for a Black Ink Disciple to become an Eighth-Order Open Heaven Realm Master. Although Black Ink Disciples were unshackled from their innate constraints, the risk they faced during the ascension to a higher Order than they were naturally capable of reaching was far worse than the average Human cultivator’s. More often than not, Black Ink Disciples would fail to control the power within their body and end up exploding, so even though some might reach the Eighth-Order, there shouldn’t be many. Yet he saw so many Eighth-Order Black Ink Disciples here. It was hard for either party to gain the upper hand when it came to the fight between the top Masters, so the outcome of the battle was still undecided. Things would only get worse for the Humans if they did not break the stalemate. Yang Kai was only in the Seventh-Order, and although he managed to kill a Territory Lord before, it was still hard for him to join the battlefield of the stronger fighters. The Army Commander seemed to have taken this into account and thus ordered him to lead two of the Special Operations Squads instead. He wished to have Yang Kai be the one who gave the Humans an opening when it came to the fight among those with lower cultivation. Thus, when Yang Kai heard the order from the Profound Wind Squad, he did not have to dwell on it for long before he surmised what the Army Commander’s plan was.