Chapter 5527: Xiang Shan’s Arrival More than 10 days passed in the blink of an eye, and Yang Kai’s condition had stabilised. Though the injury to his Soul hadn’t fully healed, he had the Soul Warming Lotus continuously nourishing it, so all that was required was time. He had used Soul Rending Thorns many times by now and was used to getting injured in this fashion. Moreover, after having torn apart his Soul countless times, his Soul had become more robust and resilient than before. When he thought about it, this was something that happened often because the path of Martial Dao usually followed the principle of tribulation before success, so the process of constantly tearing apart his Soul and restoring it could be considered a type of cultivation. It was just that such a cultivation method wasn’t widely usable by others. At this moment, Yang Kai was summoning Purifying Light and sealing it into a Purifying Black Ink Battleship. Now, all the battlefields were strained because there were a large number of troops but limited logistical resources. When fighting against the Black Ink Clan, the first hurdle the Humans had to cross was the corruption of Black Ink Strength. Purifying Black Ink Pills could solve the greater half of that issue; however, with over a dozen battlefields and more than 10 million troops almost constantly engaged in battle, there was a huge demand for Purifying Black Ink Pills. Even after gathering all the Alchemists in the 3,000 Worlds and having them work without rest, there still weren’t enough pills to satisfy the demand. Without Purifying Black Ink Pills to suppress the corruption of Black Ink Strength, soldiers wouldn’t be able to go all out when fighting the Black Ink Clan and would lose about 30% of their combat efficacy. Back when they were on the Black Ink Battlefield, the soldiers from all Great Passes had Purifying Light, but after so many years of battle, the Purifying Light from all those Great Passes had been depleted. Fortunately, Yang Kai had returned, and there was an abundance of Yellow and Blue Crystals in his Small Universe, so they could have as much Purifying Light as they wanted. Moreover, Yang Kai was no longer the only one who could use Purifying Light, Sun Yan could as well! In the Chaotic Dead Territory, Yang Kai asked Big Brother Huang and Big Sister Lan to bestow him more Great Sun and Moon Marks because he was preparing for this moment. Previously, he was the only one who could summon Purifying Light, which was very inefficient, but now that Sun Yan also had the Great Sun and Moon Marks embedded on the back of her hands, she could help Yang Kai share the burden, so summoning Purifying Light had become less stressful. Not only that, but Yang Kai was preparing to pass out the remaining nine sets of Marks because once that was done, almost all the battlefields would have someone who could summon Purifying Light, which could greatly relieve the pressure the Human Race was facing. Of course, if one wanted to take on the Great Sun and Moon Marks, one had to have a Divine Spirit Source and Bloodline. The Source Strength from the Burning Light and Serene Glimmer was too powerful, making it impossible for those without bloodline ties to them to withstand, so only Divine Spirits could accept the two Marks. Yang Kai had let Wei Jun Yang relay this message to the Supreme Headquarters. There were now more than a dozen battlefields, so the nine remaining Marks naturally couldn’t be distributed evenly among them. As for how to allocate these personnel, that was a problem the Supreme Headquarters had to solve. After a long period of being constantly busy, Yang Kai finally had some time to rest. Since Yang Kai was now proficient in many Grand Daos; whether it be Alchemy, Artifact Refining, or Arrays, he had some attainments in all of them. As the saying goes, those who were able could do more, so he naturally wouldn’t have time to rest. Today, Yang Kai was repairing a Warship when a Seventh-Order Open Heaven Realm Master flew over and landed in front of him before cupping his fist and said, “Sir, someone from the Supreme Headquarters has arrived. Senior Wei and Senior Ou Yang have asked that you head over there and join the discussion.” “Why do I need to head over there?” Yang Kai was a little taken aback. Though he was an Eighth-Order Open Heaven Realm Master and could count as a Division Commander, he hadn’t received any official appointment from the higher-ups, so he was still quite free. However, Wei Jun Yang and the others asked him to head over to join their discussion, which meant they might have something planned for him. Yang Kai knew that very well because Eighth-Order Open Heaven Realm Masters were now the mainstay of the Human Race, so each Eighth-Order Master had to take on a leadership role. The main reason Yang Kai was reluctant to go over was that he felt he had the strength and ability but needed more experience, so if he was officially appointed as a Division Commander, it would be very stressful for him. Moreover, he still had something important he needed to do. If he were appointed as a Commander, he might not have much time to do that. *Cough! Cough!* Yang Kai covered his chest and coughed a few times before speaking with a pale face, “Go back and tell Senior Brother Wei that my injuries have worsened, so I have returned to rest.” While saying so, he didn’t even bother about repairing the Warship and turned around to leave in the direction of his temporary accommodations. Having just reunited with his many Wives, Yang Kai had many things to say to them, so Yu Ru Meng and the others had transformed a small Universe Fragment near the frontlines into a temporary palace. No one had said anything about their actions either. The Seventh-Order Open Heaven Realm Master let out a bitter laugh before dashing over and stopping Yang Kai in his path. He bowed and said, “Sir, it’s an order from the higher-ups, so please don’t make things difficult for me.” Meanwhile, he was thinking, [Could this Sir have discovered something? Otherwise, why is he trying to flee?] With a bitter expression, Yang Kai persuaded the Seventh-Order Open Heaven Realm Master, “I’m not making things difficult for you. My injuries have indeed gotten worse.” Saying so, he coughed a few more times and spat out a mouthful of blood… The Seventh-Order Open Heaven Realm Master was speechless. [Isn’t this a little too exaggerated?] But seeing that Yang Kai had gone to such lengths to avoid going there, he couldn’t say anything else. Just as he was about to leave, a majestic voice boomed from the Main Conference Hall, “Smelly Brat, get your ass over here!” Stunned, Yang Kai looked at the Seventh-Order Open Heaven Realm Master and asked, “Who… is the person that came from the Supreme Headquarters?” With a slight smile, the Seventh-Order Master replied, “It’s Senior Xiang Shan who personally came over.” Yang Kai felt frustrated. [Damn Big Head Xiang! Can’t that bastard stay at the Supreme Headquarters to just oversee everything? Why come all the way here?] While he was complaining inside, his pale face gradually returned to normal as he sighed and beckoned to the Seventh-Order Open Heaven Realm Master, “Come on, let’s go.” [Since Big Head Xiang has arrived, I should at least give him some face…] Thus, Yang Kai decided that he would go over, but would only listen and not make any comments during the discussion; after all, his goal was to have freedom, so they should just forget about appointing him to a post in the Army. [If I had known this would happen, I would have returned to the Star Boundary for a visit because Little Senior Sister is still there.] “Sir, please!” The Seventh-Order Open Heaven Realm Master gestured with a smile. His expression was obviously implying, ‘Why waste all the effort playing sick when you could have just complied?’ Soon, Yang Kai arrived before the Main Conference Hall and looked up at its entrance. This Main Conference Hall was also temporarily built, so it didn’t have any strong defensive abilities. After all, they were at the frontlines and might have to face an attack from the Black Ink Clan at any moment. There was no telling when this frontline would be broken through, so building a sturdy conference hall was unnecessary. This conference hall was built so that the higher-ups had a place to hold discussions, so even a tent would do. “Senior Brother Yang!” A familiar voice sounded from beside Yang Kai, so he turned to look over and saw that it was indeed someone he knew. Or, to be more precise, a Divine Spirit he knew. It was Ji Lao San from the Dragon Clan! This guy had stopped Yang Kai in front of the No-Return Pass, but was then humiliatingly defeated. However, since Yang Kai’s disappearance after saving him, Ji Lao San no longer held a grudge against Yang Kai. Now, Ji Lao San greatly admired Yang Kai, but his admiration had nothing to do with Yang Kai’s life-saving grace, because after spending some time with Yang Kai, Ji Lao San had seen Yang Kai’s full abilities. Not only was Ji Lao San there, but there were also eight other figures, of which all looked quite familiar. Amongst them was a colourful-robed young woman who was squinting her eyes at Yang Kai, making her look quite playful. Huang Si Niang! The one from the Phoenix Clan at the No-Return Pass. She was the one who gave Yang Kai one of her tail feathers! Standing beside Huang Si Niang was the stern-looking Feng Liu Lang. It seemed these two were inseparable and went everywhere together; however, Yang Kai didn’t know if they were a real couple. All nine of these familiar faces were Divine Spirits! More importantly, most of them were from the Dragon and Phoenix Clans. Having understood the situation, Yang Kai knew that the Supreme Headquarters had chosen the Divine Spirits who would be receiving the Great Sun and Moon Marks. Also, it seemed like Xiang Shan coming here personally might have something to do with this as well. These Divine Spirits did not join the Humans in the conference hall but chose to wait outside. “Brother Ji!” Yang Kai bowed and then proceeded to greet Huang Si Niang and Feng Liu Lang. Since he was unfamiliar with most of the other Divine Spirits, he only nodded at them as a greeting. It seemed like the Divine Spirits also knew why they came, so they were naturally polite to Yang Kai. After exchanging some formalities, Yang Kai asked, “Brother Ji, how are Senior Fu Guang’s injuries?” There were originally two Divine Dragons in the Dragon Clan, but the current Dragon Clan Leader had died in the battle on the Barren Territory, so only Fu Guang was left. Now, not only was Fu Guang the pillar of the Dragon Clan, but he was also the leader of all Divine Spirits. Yang Kai had long since heard that Fu Guang was injured, but he didn’t know how serious his condition was. Hearing that, Ji Lao San sighed, “After the battle in the Barren Territory, our Clan Leader died in battle while Senior Fu Guang sustained heavy injuries and almost didn’t make it. He has been restoring his health all these years, but at his level of strength, it is just as hard to heal as it is to be hurt.” Yang Kai nodded. It was true that cultivators with great strength were not afraid of minor injuries, but if they sustained heavy injuries, it would be even more difficult for them to restore their health. Moreover, judging by Ji Lao San’s words, it seemed like Fu Guang was injured by the Black Ink Giant Spirit God and almost didn’t survive. “Is he recuperating inside the Dragon Pool?” Yang Kai asked. Ji Lao San nodded. The Dragon Pool was the origin of the Dragon Clan, so it wasn’t strange for Fu Guang to be restoring himself in there. Back in the day, the Divine Spirits that came from the Grand Ancient Ruins Boundary were causing so much chaos in the Star Boundary that it actually alerted Fu Guang. In the end, Fu Guang came forward and deterred them from making trouble, which made the Divine Spirits from the Grand Ancient Ruin Boundary quiet down. Otherwise, those Divine Spirits would have stayed in the Star Boundary and continued to cause chaos. Although the Human Race now had Fu Guang as one of their strongest Masters, they wouldn’t disturb him unless it was the last resort. After a moment of silence, Yang Kai could only sigh as he couldn’t do anything to help. Turning to look at Huang Si Niang, he took out a tail feather that had lost all spirituality, “Many thanks for giving me this tail feather, Si Niang. It has now returned to its owner.” Huang Si Niang chuckled, “I, too, wanted to take a look at the view outside, so there’s no need to thank me.” While saying that, she reached out and took the tail feather. The Dragon and Phoenix Clans took a Bloodline Great Oath, so they couldn’t easily leave the No-Return Pass. When Huang Si Niang took advantage of a bet with Feng Liu Lang to give Yang Kai her tail feather, which in truth was a type of Soul Clone, she did so with the thought of wanting to head outside the Great Pass and take a look at the scenery. But now that the No-Return Pass had been lost, the Dragon and Phoenix Clans no longer had to abide by their Oath anymore. The two Clans had mixed feelings about the No-Return Pass because they had been guarding it for aeons and now saw it as their home. However, the No-Return Pass was also a cage to them. Though they wanted to leave the No-Return Pass, they didn’t want to be forced out in such a way. Sooner or later, they would storm in and snatch the No-Return Pass back from the Black Ink Clan!