Chapter 5303, What Benefits? Translator: Silavin & June Translation Checker: PewPewLazerGun Editor and Proofreader: Leo of Zion Mountain & Dhael Ligerkeys Having said that, Yang Kai extended his right hand, palm down, and with light pressure, a simple pattern appeared on the back of his hand. At first glance, the pattern appeared to be nothing special but a simple circle; however, as soon as the two Phoenixes noticed this mark, their expression darkened. “The Great Sun Mark!? You’ve been to the Chaotic Dead Territory!?” Huang Si Niang exclaimed in shock. Feng Liu Lang remained silent yet his expression twitched non-stop. These two must have identified this mark; otherwise, they would not have reacted in this manner and Si Niang would not have uttered ‘Chaotic Dead Territory’. “This is the mark of the Sun’s Burning Light, and this…” Yang Kai remarked with a nod. 𝒻𝓇𝑒𝘦𝘸𝑒𝒷𝓃ℴ𝑣𝘦𝑙.𝒸ℴ𝘮 He stretched out his left hand, and with a slight exertion, a pattern appeared on the back of the hand as well. However, this pattern was different from the one on the right hand, and if the pattern from the right hand were to be inserted into the left one, the two should fit exactly; two for one. “The Great Moon Mark…” Huang Si Niang was at a loss for words. Now, they understood why Ji Lao San was so vulnerable in the face of this individual. Even with Yang Kai just showing them these two marks, the two Phoenixes felt breathless, so nothing need be said about Ji Lao San who had been targeted for suppression. In the beginning, there was Chaos. When Chaos split apart, Yin and Yang were formed. From Yin and Yang, all Divine Spirits and living beings were born. The Sun’s Burning Light and Moon’s Serene Glimmer were regarded as the progenitors of all things and the first ancestors of all Divine Spirits. With these two marks in hand, no Divine Spirit could lift their head in front of Yang Kai. It was also the first time he was aware that these two marks had such an effect. The two marks he received from the Burning Light and Serene Glimmer had always been utilised solely to condense Purifying Light; however, as he was facing Ji Lao San just now, Yang Kai felt a heat on the back of his hands and unconsciously activated the marks, which resulted in that unexpected situation. Of course, any form of suppression had its limits. Ji Lao San freed himself from the suppression by pushing himself beyond his limits and summoning his Dragon Bead. However, doing this would ultimately cause Ji Lao San serious harm, and his Dragon Bead would have been damaged if Yang Kai did not release him promptly. On top of that, this effect was so pronounced because Yang Kai had been facing a Grand Dragon; if it had been one of the three Ancient Dragons, the effect of the marks would likely have been greatly reduced due to the vast gap in strength between him and them. “Ji Lao San picked a bad fight,” Huang Si Niang grinned bitterly. Even the Dragon Clan would not dare to undervalue Yang Kai with these two marks adorning his hands. There was a huge chance that Ji Lao San would not have his position in the Dragon Pool this time. The question had already been answered, and Yang Kai now officially owned the long feather that was in his palm. He carefully put it away with the intention of studying it later when he had more free time. The Dao of Space, was, after all, the Phoenix Clan’s Bloodline Talent, so he might have some unexpected gains. “Was this long feather from one of your wings?” He inquired once again. Huang Si Niang gave him a sullen look before ignoring him. Yang Kai scratched his head in confusion, then, as he suddenly realised something, he glanced at her back. “What are you looking at?” Huang Si Niang turned around and glared even more fiercely. To which Yang Kai responded with a wry smile. Huang Si Niang then sighed, “Sometimes, I am quite envious of you Humans. Despite having a short lifespan and a weak body, you have unlimited possibilities. For Divine Spirits like us, however, we are born with a strong physique and a promising future, but we are incomparable to the Human Race in many cases.” Yang Kai asked humbly, “What do you mean?” “Take you, for instance. You have a Dragon Clan Bloodline, so you can cultivate the Dao of Time. Plus, you have quite the talent in the Dao of Space, so you can use both Grand Daos. We Phoenixes, on the other hand, only have the Dao of Space as our sole Bloodline Talent, so we can’t cultivate the Dragon Clan’s Dao of Time. Furthermore, though Divine Spirits don’t encounter many challenges throughout our formative years, we will have to go through much more exacting challenges than you Humans if we want to reach our highest potential,” she replied. “Like the Ninth-Order Open Heaven Realm?” Yang Kai frowned. Huang Si Niang responded with a nod, “Even though there aren’t a lot of Ninth-Orders Open Heaven Realm Masters among the Humans, there are still more than 100 of them. It is very challenging for us, Divine Spirits, to cultivate to such a realm. Take the Dragon Clan for example. There is only one Divine Dragon among the whole clan.” Above Young Dragons were the Grand Dragons, followed by the Ancient Dragon, then finally the Divine Dragons! Yang Kai was aware that the Dragon Source that resided in his body was the Golden Divine Dragon’s Source. This wasn’t to claim that he possessed the strength of a Divine Dragon as that would be equivalent to a Ninth-Order Open Heaven Realm Master. Still, his Source originated from a Golden Divine Dragon. What’s more, it was from a Dragon Emperor who lived in ancient times! Yang Kai had become aware of this when he entered the Crystal Palace in the Divine Spirit Ancestral Land to cultivate. Theoretically, every Dragon Clan member had the potential to become a Divine Dragon, but that was only in theory. In reality, there weren’t many Dragon Clansmen that succeeded in growing into a Divine Dragon since ancient times. Furthermore, only the strongest of Divine Dragons were granted the title of Dragon Emperor. The Phoenix Empress, on the other hand, was the title that corresponded to that title in the Phoenix Clan. Yang Kai laughed as he heard Huang Si Niang bemoaning herself and said, “It’s not that simple. The vast human population is the reason why there are so many Ninth-Order Open Heaven Realm Masters. On the other hand, there are only a few members of the Dragon and Phoenix Clans. Having one Divine Dragon is already quite a high ratio.” “That may be the reason, but given that the Divine Spirits are rare to begin with, how would we know that it wasn’t due to the restrictions of the Heavenly Way?” Huang Si Niang smiled. Her words made Yang Kai think. Then, Huang Si Niang continued, “You came to me to ask the reason why Ji Lao San was so hostile to you earlier, right?” This wasn’t the first time she had mentioned Ji Lao San, so Yang Kai immediately recognised that Ji Lao San was the Grand Dragon who had blocked him before. He thus nodded and said, “I have a guess, but I don’t know the specific reason.” Huang Si Niang chuckled, “It seems like you’re quite the smart one. The reason why Ji Lao San targeted you was because you took away benefits that belonged to him.” “What benefits?” “The Dragon Pool! The Phoenix Clan lives in this Immortal Parasol Tree, and the Phoenix Nests here will help us strengthen our bloodlines and gain a better grasp of the Dao of Space. The Phoenix Clan has the Immortal Parasol Tree while the Dragon Clan has the Dragon Pool. They are very different existences, but serve almost the same function. A member of the Dragon Clan can quickly enhance their Dragon Vein when they cultivate in the Dragon Pool, saving them a lot of time. However, the Dragon Pool isn’t always accessible. The time between each opening is at least a few thousand years, with the last time it opened being 3,000 years ago. Ji Lao San has been waiting for this day for such a long time, plus it is finally his turn this time. How could he easily agree while you just came along and snatched the opportunity that belongs to him when he was so close to greatly increasing his strength?” Huang Si Niang said. Yang Kai was at a loss for words. Although he knew that he must have somehow threatened Ji Lao San’s benefits as there would be no reason for the latter to wait for him outside the No-Return Pass otherwise, he didn’t expect it to be related to the Dragon Pool’s opening. It was no wonder that Ji Lao San showed such rage when he first approached him. Yang Kai would have not tolerated it either if it was him. “The Dragon Pool is only open to those of the Dragon Clan. You are the first individual who was born a Human with an acquired Dragon Clan Bloodline that has been allowed to enter the Dragon Pool. The Human Race must have paid a lot in exchange for this opportunity. Besides, Ji Lao San is not the only one who is unhappy; others in the Dragon Clan are also unhappy.” This was also the reason behind the Dragon Clan’s approval of Ji Lao San’s assault against Yang Kai. If Yang Kai lost to Ji Lao San, the Humans wouldn’t be able to say anything about it either; after all, the chance to enter the Dragon Pool to cultivate was rare, so no weakling would ever be given such an opportunity. However, neither Ji Lao San nor the Dragon Clan at the No-Return Pass imagined that Yang Kai, a Seventh-Order Open Heaven Realm Human, would be able to defeat a Grand Dragon with such ease. When Yang Kai heard this, he frowned, “What price did the Human Race pay?” “I have no idea about that,” answered Huang Si Niang while shaking her head, “It must have been a trade between the Dragon Clan and the Ninth-Order Old Ancestors of the Human Race. Despite us living together in the No-Return Pass, we hardly ever speak to one another. As long as the Dragon Clan members do not disclose anything, we, the Phoenix Clan, won’t stick our nose into it either.” Yang Kai sighed in his heart, finally understanding everything. He would undoubtedly encounter numerous dangers during the upcoming crusade, and while he might be strong for his realm, he was ultimately only a Seventh-Order Open Heaven Realm Master. On the Black Ink Battlefield, even an Eighth-Order Open Heaven Realm Master could be killed at any moment, let alone a Seventh-Order Master. Yang Kai had just ascended to the Seventh-Order Open Heaven Realm a few hundred years ago, meaning he was still a long way away from the Eighth-Order. Old Ancestor Xiao Xiao probably felt like he couldn’t make a breakthrough to the Eighth Order in the short time they had left, so she ordered Yang Kai to head to the No-Return Pass. It seemed he now owed her a huge favour. “The Dragon Clan has always acted aloof with the Humans, except for the Ninth-Order Masters, of course, as the biggest fist will always have a say in things. But relatively speaking, the Dragon Clan hates Humans like you who intentionally or unintentionally get the chance to integrate with a Dragon Source. The Source originally belonged to the Dragon Clan after all, but now, it has merged with Humans like you. In the eyes of the Dragon Clan, this is an intolerable blasphemy. If you had not come from the Black Ink Battlefield, I’m afraid that you would have been be torn apart by those Ancient Dragons on sight. They would take away your Dragon Source before you even left the No-Return Pass.” This was another reason why the Dragon Clan had acted so cold towards him. In the end, Yang Kai’s foundation was still Human. It might be said that him merging with the Golden Divine Dragon Source was his own opportunity; yet, from the perspective of the Dragon Clan, it was disrespectful to their ancestors. This applied not only to the Dragon Clan members of the No-Return Pass, but to the Dragon Clan members in Dragon Island as well. When Zhu Qing first encountered him, she engaged in a battle with him in an effort to reclaim the Dragon Source from his body. Of course, that little episode wound up with her losing the rice she wanted to steal a chicken with. The later easing of the relationship with the Dragon Island Dragons was largely due to the birth of the small White Dragon, Yang Xiao, plus the fact that Yang Kai provided help when Heaven Devouring Great Emperor, Wu Kuang, caused trouble in Dragon Island. Listening to all this, Yang Kai finally understood the reason for his visit to the No-Return Pass as well as the hostile attitude the Dragon Clan had towards him. Yang Kai believed his time cultivating in the Dragon Pool wouldn’t be simple or peaceful, despite the agreement between the Ninth-Order Open Heaven Realm Masters and the Dragon Clan. As such, he needed to make some plans. Of course, the attitude of the Dragon Clan wasn’t enough for him to just give up. Old Ancestor Xiao Xiao had hoped that he would be able to get stronger to defend himself with the help of the Dragon Pool, so he had to give it his best.