Chapter 5842, Making a Choice Translator: Silavin & Sara Translation Checker: PewPewLazerGun Editor and Proofreader: Leo of Zion Mountain & Dhael Ligerkeys Several millennia had passed since the Black Ink Clan’s invasion of the 3,000 Worlds. Before the Universe Furnace appeared, the Humans had been stuck guarding the dozen or so Great Territory battlefields. Apart from those Great Territories as well as High Heaven Territory and the New Great Territory, the rest of the other Great Territories largely fell into the Black Ink Clan’s hands. Thus, the Humans had been facing a very difficult conundrum all this while. It was the issue of resources. The fewer Great Territories they controlled, the fewer resources they had access to. A single New Great Territory was not enough to supply the needs of the entire Human Race. During the great evacuation back then, all the Sects, including the Cave Heavens, and Paradises, brought along everything they could carry from their storehouses and treasuries. This was especially true of the Cave Heavens and Paradises who had hundreds of thousands of years of accumulated resources in their collections. Nevertheless, in the thousands of years that passed since then, they had used up most of what they brought with them and their resources were nearly drained as well. Furthermore, as the Human Race’s rising stars flourished and many new Open Heaven Realm Masters emerged in the Star Boundary and the Myriad Monsters World, the need for resources constantly grew. In the past, the Human Race’s many Great Forces were spread throughout thousands of Great Territories across the 3,000 Worlds and were basically self-sufficient, but that could no longer be the case now. As such, many years ago, the Humans started looking for ways to overcome this crisis. It was a matter of resources, and the only options were to use them sparingly and find new sources. It was easy enough to keep usage to a minimum. The Humans scrimped and saved wherever they could to avoid any needless usage of materials. They even stopped Squads from customizing their Warships hundreds of years ago. However, the Humans had a hard time finding new sources. Earlier on, quite a lot of Hunters attempted to loot the Black Ink Clan teams who were moving resources around. They did manage to get what they wanted, but it was incredibly dangerous as well as things would end in disaster for them the moment a Master from the Black Ink Clan targeted them. Many of the Black Ink Disciples among the Black Ink Clan now were such Hunters in the past. Yang Kai had ‘negotiated’ with the Black Ink Clan at the No-Return Pass before and was richly rewarded for his efforts, but that was not a long-term solution. Therefore, after much discussion with Mi Jing Lun back then, they created a group that was dedicated to mining resources. Several veteran Eighth-Order Masters were appointed as leaders and the whole group was snuck into the Black Ink Battlefield to carry out this mission. The group consisted of tens of thousands of Human Masters, but their overall cultivation was fairly low, mainly in the Third, Fourth, and Fifth-Order. They could not contribute much on the battlefield, but they were able to gather resources which was a job that did not require much strength. There were countless lifeless areas across the Black Ink Battlefield where an abundance of resources could be found, so it was a suitable place for them to exploit. The Eighth-Order Masters who had been chosen were either the older ones with failing bodies or those with deep injuries to their foundations, leading to a noticeable decline in their strength. At the time, Ou Yang Lie had been one of them, but Yang Kai later sent him back as a messenger during the escaped Territory Lord emergency. Yang Kai promised them that he would meet them once every century to retrieve the resources. Over a thousand years had passed and everything had gone smoothly until 700 years ago which was the last time he showed up, until today. The many Eighth-Order Masters had been eagerly waiting this whole time. 700 years was not necessarily a long time, but they were all alone out here and had no clue what was happening in the 3,000 Worlds. That was the reason why they felt disproportionately on edge and often felt despairing. Thus, when they received the message from the hemp-robed old man, the Eighth-Order Masters who had been scattered nearby immediately rushed over. They were pleasantly surprised to find that Yang Kai was now a Ninth-Order Master. “Did you not show up all these years because you were in seclusion to make your breakthrough, Junior Brother?” The hemp-robed old man asked. His guess made sense. “No, that’s not why,” Yang Kai shook his head, “It’s a long story.” “Take your time! There’s no rush,” another Eighth-Order Master quickly said. He even took out a futon and passed it to Yang Kai. They could not wait to be updated on everything that happened to the Human Race throughout the last 700 years. Now that Yang Kai had finally shown up again, they were going to make sure they gleaned all the information they could get. Soon, everyone had taken a seat, and Yang Kai finally filled them in on all the changes that had occurred with the Human Race. Their faces froze in shock when they heard that the Universe Furnace had surfaced and the stalemate between the Humans and the Black Ink Clan had been broken; however, they were thrilled to hear that four new Ninth-Order Masters had emerged from the Universe Furnace World. Their reactions grew even more animated when they found out that Ou Yang Lie was one of those four. “That old dog is now a Ninth-Order Master?” A white-haired Eighth-Order Master’s eyes nearly fell out of their sockets in shock as his face twitched violently. “How did he get so damn lucky?” Another Eighth-Order Master commented enviously. Initially, all of the Eighth-Order Masters who were assigned to this team were part of the older generation who had fought against the Black Ink Clan for thousands of years even before the invasion of the 3,000 Worlds and each of them had many fine accomplishments to their names. It was their long and storied histories that led to them having so many injuries that left a significant mark on them as well. They had no hope of becoming Ninth-Order Masters, and even if they went back to the battlefield, they could not wield their full strength anymore unless they put their lives on the line to do so. They were perfectly willing to accept the arrangement and protect the group of miners as that was still contributing to the Human Race’s ultimate victory. Yet, due to the incident back then, Yang Kai sent Ou Yang Lie back to the 3,000 Worlds to pass the news along, which ended up turning into an opportunity for the latter. The old veterans here had complicated feelings about this as they felt as if they had missed out on a lot… “Oh well, fortune favours fools. So be it that he’s now a Ninth-Order Master. It’s good news that we have one more Ninth-Order Master among us,” the hemp-robed old man cleared his throat and declared. Everyone else nodded in agreement, “That’s true.” Despite their envy, they knew that Ou Yang Lie’s ascension to the Ninth-Order Open Heaven Realm was a great boost to the Human Race’s strength. They were merely boggled by his incredible stroke of fortune. They had been assigned here together to contribute what little they could, and yet Ou Yang Lie was fortunate enough to make a huge leap in his cultivation. “Seems to me that the Black Ink Clan suffered significant losses inside the Universe Furnace.” Yang Kai nodded, “They lost a few Pseudo-Royal Lords and a Royal Lord too, but Mo Na Ye became a Royal Lord and narrowly avoided meeting his doom. Apart from the four Ninth-Order Masters who ascended inside the Universe Furnace, Senior Brother Wei Jun Yang and Senior Sister Luo Ting He also successfully broke through beforehand. Right now, Xiao Xiao and Wu Qing have been freed up as well, so they’re each leading an Army.” Someone silently made the calculations, “Does that mean we have eight Ninth-Order Masters now?” “We have nine!” Yang Kai turned to the person who spoke, “There’s one more that all of you aren’t familiar with. He’s in charge of guarding the Primordial Heavens Source Grand Restriction and is the reincarnation of Martial Ancestor Shi.” Yang Kai was referring to Wu Kuang, but Wu Kuang did not interact much with the Masters from Cave Heavens and Paradises. His name was not known to the masses and few even knew of his existence. Wu Kuang had only been a Seventh-Order Master when Yang Kai brought him to the Primordial Heavens Source Grand Restriction, but he was able to cultivate and reach the Ninth-Order Open Heaven Realm thanks to the Heaven Devouring Battle Law. Still, everyone was greatly heartened by this news. During the great war in the Barren Territory all those years ago, nearly all of the Ninth-Order Masters sacrificed their lives in the fight. Even the Heads of the Dragon and Phoenix Clans died in battle. Xiao Xiao and Wu Qing were the only Ninth-Order Masters left at the time, but they had to keep the Black Ink Giant Spirit God occupied and thus could not move from Wind Mist Territory. Several millennia passed since then and the Humans finally had new Ninth-Order Masters among their ranks. There were quite a number of them too. It was a ray of light that shone through after all their years of fighting and resistance efforts. Following that, Yang Kai informed them about the Humans’ current situation out on the battlefields. Once they heard what was happening, the Eighth-Order Masters were itching to join the fighting and do their part in slaughtering the enemy. Thankfully, they still recalled what their mission was and were able to stamp down their thirst for battle. So much had changed with the situation for both Races in just 700 years. Though they did not expect any of it, they were not surprised by it either. During the previous clashes between the Humans and the Black Ink Clan, both parties had consistently held back. It was partly due to the Black Ink Clan being wary of Yang Kai, but the primary reason was that the Humans and the Black Ink Clan were both building up their strength. The appearance of the Universe Furnace disrupted the stalemate that had persisted for many millennia and kicked off the all-out war. “Something happened and I was delayed all these years, forcing you all to wait for far too long.” Yang Kai only gave a brief explanation as to why he had not shown up for the past 700 years. He did not speak of all that had happened to him inside the Universe Furnace as there was no need for others to hear of these things. The hemp-robed old man waved his hand and said, “It was only 700 years. There’s no harm in waiting. The others are out on the battlefield shedding their blood and making great sacrifices while we remain in safety here.” Yang Kai’s expression grew serious, “I came here today for two reasons. The first is to collect the resources you’ve gathered all these years, and the second is to ask if any of you wish to return. If you do, I can take you back.” Everyone brightened up at those words. They had been gathering resources across the Black Ink Battlefield for over 1,000 years now and had nothing much else to do. Considering the cultivation they had right now, they did not need to cultivate any further as it would not be useful anyway. Since they did not get into any fights with the enemy, their lives felt extremely mundane. They missed the old days of fighting on the battlefield. Therefore, they livened up at Yang Kai’s words and many of them nodded fervently in agreement. Nevertheless, the hemp-robed old man pondered in silence for a moment before asking, “Are we still stretched thin for resources at the moment?” Yang Kai nodded, “It’s still a problem that’s hard to resolve. Although we’ve reclaimed many Great Territories, we can’t gather much from those places. The Black Ink Clan destroyed basically everything before they retreated.” Many of the Great Territories the Humans reclaimed were nothing more than empty shells. It was clear that the Black Ink Clan would not allow the Humans to reclaim a Great Territory that was abundant in resources. Furthermore, after being under the control of the Black Ink Clan for all those years, all of the valuable areas had been almost completely stripped of resources as well. Naturally, the Black Ink Clan took the resources with them when they evacuated. They were not going to leave them behind and allow their enemy to reap the benefits. Everyone went quiet as their expressions fell. “You don’t need to worry about resources,” Yang Kai said, “I will think of something.” “What’s your idea?” the hemp-robed old man asked. Yang Kai chuckled and said, “We lack resources, but the Black Ink Clan doesn’t. They’ve never had to fret over the lack of resources. Well, since they have more than enough, I’ll just borrow some from them.” He had spoken in such a calm and relaxed manner that it was almost as if the Black Ink Clan would truly lend their resources to the Humans. Nevertheless, the Eighth-Order Masters knew better. Even though Yang Kai was a Ninth-Order Master, it would not be easy for him to target the Black Ink Clan, especially since they were not the same as they once were. Just as the Humans had grown stronger, the Black Ink Clan’s heritage had increased as well. The hemp-robed old man remained silent in thought for a moment before saying, “All Humans are one, sharing glory and downfall together. We must gather resources, and even though we’re not doing so at a speedy rate, we’re still able to make some gains. Moreover, we’ve stayed well-hidden all these years and the Black Ink Clan has never discovered our presence. Let’s stay here and continue gathering the resources we need. As for the battlefield, let’s leave it to the younger generation. What do you think, everyone?” This question of his was addressed to the other Eighth-Order Masters as he could not represent them all.