Chapter 5296, Forcing a Reward Translator: Silavin & Raikov Translation Checker: PewPewLazerGun Editor and Proofreader: Leo of Zion Mountain & Dhael Ligerkeys Though Yang Kai originally meant for it to nourish his Squad member’s bodies, it had no such effect. It was just ordinary beef, while even the weakest in Dawn were in the Fifth-Order Open Heaven Realm. Even a gift from Wind and Cloud Pass’ Old Ancestor, if it had no spirituality, was nothing more than normal food. However, it was still a gift from an Old Ancestor, which made it much more symbolic than practical. So, while everyone was free, Yang Kai decided to take it out and share it with everyone. He had only mentioned that it was a gift from Wind and Cloud Pass’ Old Ancestor, but without saying anything else, Dawn’s members were naturally greatly looking forward to it. Feng Ying led a few female members to handle the beef and simmer it into soup while Shen Ao and the others brought out long tables and benches, set out some fruit plates and fine wine, and then prepared for a big feast. This was a rare occasion for everyone on the Black Ink Battlefield, where they could all get together and relax, so they naturally cherished the moment well. Even Ning Qi Zhi, who was still recovering from his injuries, was helping out. After years of recuperation, Ning Qi Zhi’s injuries have improved considerably. It should only take a few more years before he fully recovered. Dawn’s members were drinking and chatting with each other, having a carefree time. The Old Ancestor had then arrived, drawn over through the fragrance in the air. Yang Kai had no idea how the Old Ancestor’s nose came about, but when the smell of their soup wafted over, she came running over to get a bowl of her own. Naturally, nobody dared to not welcome the Old Ancestor. In fact, her visit was a great honour for everyone in Dawn. Only Yang Kai stood by the Old Ancestor’s side with a gloomy face. Looking up, a Great Sun could be seen hanging in the air, and he could feel the power in his Small Universe flowing out of him as if a floodgate had been opened. “What are you pulling that bitter face for? All I’m asking for is a bit of sunshine from you, is that so difficult?” Old Ancestor Xiao Xiao muttered disgruntledly without even raising her eyes. Yang Kai smacked his lips, “But, Old Ancestor, it takes a lot from me to maintain this Divine Manifestation.” The Great Sun hanging in the air was no Sun at all, but rather Yang Kai’s Golden Crow Casts the Sun Divine Manifestation. Old Ancestor Xiao Xiao liked bathing in the Sun, a habit that she picked up inside his Small Universe. During her youth with the hunter couple, the hunter personally weaved a wicker chair for the Old Ancestor, and the large wicker chair completely enveloped her small body so that she could sit comfortably in the courtyard and enjoy her leisurely time. As her teacher at the time, Yang Kai had seen Old Ancestor Xiao Xiao relaxing in her yard countless times. The hunter couple were mortals in the end, so as they reached the end of their lives 150 years later, they both returned to the Earth. More than 100 years in Old Ancestor Xiao Xiao’s life was but a snap of her fingers, but Yang Kai knew just how important those days were to Old Ancestor Xiao Xiao, and no matter how much time passed, she would likely never forget even a moment of that period. Feng Ying came at just the right time to save the day. The beef soup was done, and she brought a bowl over. Yang Kai accepted the bowl from her and handed it to the Old Ancestor with respect, “Your meal, Old Ancestor.” Only then did Old Ancestor Xiao Xiao open her eyes and sit up. Taking the bowl from him, she threw her head back and drank it. Taking advantage of this moment, Yang Kai quickly withdrew his Divine Manifestation. Old Ancestor Xiao Xiao glared at him while she was drinking her soup, but Yang Kai pretended not to have seen it. In just a few breaths of time, the bowl of soup was emptied. The Old Ancestor wiped the fat from her mouth using her sleeve without any care for her image and pouted, “How petty.” Yang Kai raised a brow. Old Ancestor Xiao Xiao said, “Let’s talk about that old man. You spent all that effort to visit him and this is all he gave you?” Yang Kai answered, “What else should he give, then? I wouldn’t dare to ask for more either.” Old Ancestor Xiao Xiao lectured him, “The next time you have the opportunity to see him, go and find the old ox with a broken horn and cut some of its flesh. That meat is very nourishing, and just one bite will give even better effects than 100 years of cultivating!” While speaking, she had even begun to salivate. Yang Kai quickly moved to cover her. If the members of Dawn were to see the Old Ancestor like this, she might lose all authority in their eyes. Even if the Old Ancestor did not care about her image, he still had to help defend it, which was tiring work. “That ox… Is there something special about it?” Old Ancestor Xiao Xiao explained, “That old man has been taking care of that ox for many years, so it’s brimming with spirituality. The other oxen are the common descendants of that old ox that old man often brings out as gifts to others, but you all act grateful as if it’s some good thing.” Yang Kai carefully recalled when he saw Wind and Cloud Pass’ Old Ancestor that day, and there was indeed an old ox with a broken horn on its head. The ‘many years’ that Old Ancestor Xiao Xiao spoke of was probably far upwards of 10,000 years. Any being that old was most likely incredibly powerful… Yang Kai shook his head like a rattle-drum, “I wouldn’t dare.” Moreover, without even mentioning whether or not he would be a match for the ox, how could Wind and Cloud Pass’ Old Ancestor take things lying down if he really did cut the flesh from his prized ox? Old Ancestor Xiao Xiao was the one who wanted to eat beef, yet she came to incite him. It was simply unreasonable. As they were talking, a loud laugh was suddenly heard in the distance, “What a strong fragrance of meat. Yang Boy, did you make preparations beforehand knowing that you had guests coming?” Following the emergence of the voice, Xu Ling Gong appeared, coming in a large stride with two of his disciples behind him, Qing Kui and Su Ying Xue. When he came over and saw the Old Ancestor, Xu Ling Gong put away his smile immediately and like a Daughter-in-Law seeing her In-laws, he came respectfully before the Old Ancestor and bowed, “10,000 blessings to the Old Ancestor!” While speaking, he made a look at Yang Kai, asking why the Old Ancestor was here. Yang Kai returned the look, meaning that the Old Ancestor came to ask for food. Xu Ling Gong understood. There was not a single person from Yin-Yang Pass who did not know of Old Ancestor Xiao Xiao’s gluttony. In fact, Xu Ling Gong was not here for any business, just that he had been badly injured during their siege at the Royal City and had been recuperating in the years after they occupied Great Evolution Pass. After that, as Yang Kai was busy handling the matters concerning the Black Ink Nest, the two never got the chance to see each other. Now that he heard that Yang Kai had returned to Great Evolution Pass, he decided to come over for a visit, but who would have thought that he would bump into Old Ancestor Xiao Xiao here? That made him a little uneasy. Even though Old Ancestor Xiao Xiao was easygoing and did not put on airs, she was still an Old Ancestor. In all of Great Evolution Pass, apart from Yang Kai who had the guts to forgo formalities in front of her, nobody dared to act so presumptuously. Instead of catching up with Yang Kai, Xu Ling Gong was called over by Shen Ao and the others to come in with his two Disciples and to share soup and wine with Dawn, and they soon settled in. To the side, Old Ancestor Xiao Xiao had another bowl of soup and smacked her lips, looking as if she still hadn’t had enough. When Yang Kai went to grab her a third bowl, the Old Ancestor stopped him. “One does not do the same thing thrice. Two bowls of this stuff are good enough. There’s no reason to have a third bowl.” Yang Kai was tempted to say, [Why don’t you ever say that when you’re eating candied fruit and steamed stuffed buns?] The Old Ancestor seemed to notice what he wanted to say and frowned, “What are you thinking?” Yang Kai answered decisively, “Nothing at all.” Old Ancestor Xiao Xiao snorted and continued, “Inside of the Black Ink Nest Space, you fought against the Black Ink Clan alone, and as a Seventh-Order Open Heaven Realm Master, you killed or injured 11 Territory Lords and Eighth-Order Black Ink Disciples. That’s a huge merit, so tell me, is there anything you want? If it’s not too much, I will happily fulfil it.” Mi Jing Lun had mentioned this to Yang Kai before, but there was nothing that Yang Kai particularly wanted right now. He had no shortage of Military Merits. The amount he had accumulated after fighting bloody battle after bloody battle with the Black Ink Clan all these years was already enormous. He did not wish to cultivate any other Secret Techniques of other Cave Heavens or Paradises as the two Eye Secret Techniques of Myriad Demons Heaven were enough for him to digest for a long time to come. Things such as Secret Techniques should be strong in quality rather than high in numbers. He had no shortage of cultivation resources either. In fact, right now, no one on the Human side lacked resources. “Don’t say you don’t want anything,” Old Ancestor Xiao Xiao stopped Yang Kai before he could speak, “Big Head Mi is right. Even if you do not want a reward for such a great achievement, the Great Evolution Army still needs to show our appreciation; otherwise, it would seem as if the allotted rewards and punishments are unclear and our system is handled poorly. Now that I happen to be here, I might as well handle this matter.” Yang Kai didn’t know whether to laugh or cry, to think that even a reward could be forced upon someone. But really, why ‘Big Head Mi’? Ou Yang Lie called him that, and even the Old Ancestor was calling him that. Yang Kai couldn’t help but ask, “Why refer to Senior Mi as such?” The Old Ancestor said leisurely, “That man has a mind as vast as the sea, so is his head not big? Big Head Xiang is also the same.” Yang Kai rubbed his forehead… [Wonderful.] Not only was there a Big Head Mi in Great Evolution Pass, there was even a Big Head Xiang now. Yang Kai had a deep suspicion that this name actually started from the Old Ancestor. “You haven’t told me what reward you want yet. I came here personally, so you can’t make me leave empty-handed, can you?” The Old Ancestor urged him. Yang Kai was about to tell her that there was nothing that he wanted, but then he suddenly saw a graceful figure appearing and placing a bowl of beef soup down in front of Miao Fei Ping, red tinging her shy cheeks before she mustered in a tender voice, “Senior Brother Mao, please have some soup.” Miao Fei Ping answered politely, “Many thanks, Junior Sister.” The woman waved her hands, “Senior Brother is too polite.” At once, Yang Kai pointed with his hand, “Xiao Cai was born from my Small Universe and cultivates the Dao of Space. I have the intention to nurture her properly. If I’m ever too busy in the future, she can help me handle some matters relating to the Dao of Space. I would like to ask Old Ancestor to please allow her to enter Dawn and become one of my Dawn Squad’s members.” He did not speak very loudly, but how could Xiao Cai not have heard it? She was stunned in place and turned to look at Yang Kai in astonishment. Since advancing into the Open Heaven Realm, she had been assigned to a different Squad just like the other cultivators who came out of Yang Kai’s Small Universe; however, she would still come around to Dawn to help out now and then. Now that they had good things to share, Feng Ying naturally would not forget to call this young woman over. Only, Xiao Cai never thought that she would encounter such a thing today. Naturally, it was her dream to join Dawn, but after accepting Blood Crow and the others, Dawn was already full. The Army had its own system and it was impossible for them to make exceptions, so Xiao Cai knew that unless someone from Dawn fell in battle, she would never be able to join them. However, if that opportunity were to come, it would mean that heavy casualties were sustained in both Dawn and the Squad that she was in leading to a mass culling of their numbers. This was something that she was unwilling to see no matter what. Yang Kai’s sudden comment came as a pleasant surprise to her, but she also felt at a loss, unsure of what to do for a moment. Old Ancestor Xiao Xiao was also surprised, “Oh? Are you planning to take on a Disciple? That’s not a problem. Most of these little ones who come from your Small Universe have traces of your Daos, so there would be no one more suitable to guide them than you.” Yang Kai shook his head, “I don’t need to go as far as taking in a Disciple. I can just give her a few pointers here and there.”