The squad members exchanged their farewells and headed off to recuperate separately.
Generally speaking, after a large-scale battle of this magnitude, both clans would settle down for ten days to half a month, so there shouldn't be any major developments in the coming weeks.
Since returning from the Ink Clan's territory, Yang Kai had been staying with Qing Kui, and naturally departed alongside him now.
However, after only a few steps, he suddenly halted, his gaze fixing on a particular direction where a somewhat familiar figure had caught his attention.
"What are you looking at?" Qing Kui stopped beside him, puzzled.
"You go on ahead. I'll catch up shortly," Yang Kai said, then headed straight in that direction.
Before long, Qing Kui watched as Yang Kai intercepted someone there and fell into what appeared to be an amiable conversation, sparking his curiosity. He leaned toward Su Yingxue and asked in a low voice, "Junior Sister, does Yang Kai have other acquaintances here besides us?"
Su Yingxue shook her head, her face drawn with fatigue. "As long as it's not a woman, why do you care so much?"
Qing Kui nodded slightly. "Fair point."
The two continued their idle chat and quickly moved on.
On the other side, the warrior Yang Kai had stopped wore a dark expression. "You've got the wrong person."
Yang Kai smiled. "Your Divine Lord bearing is as impressive as ever — how could I mistake you?"
The man glared at him. "I'm merely a Seventh-Order. How could I dare call myself a Divine Lord?"
Yang Kai replied, "With your Divine Lord credentials, advancing to the Eighth-Order is only a matter of time. The Seventh-Order is nothing more than a transitional stage — there's no need for such modesty, Divine Lord."
"What do you want?" The man's impatience was plainly showing.
"Nothing in particular," Yang Kai said. "It's simply that running into an old acquaintance here was quite the surprise and delight. I came over to catch up, that's all."
The man flew into a rage. "I have nothing but enmity with you — what is there to catch up on?"
Yang Kai grinned. "There, you've admitted it yourself."
The man's face turned ashen. He ground his teeth. "What exactly are you after?"
Yang Kai sighed. "I'm truly not after anything. It's just that when I caught a glimpse of your silhouette, I could hardly believe it. I came to confirm it was you — and lo and behold, you've ended up here too."
"All thanks to you!" The man snarled through clenched teeth, looking for all the world like he harbored an irreconcilable grudge.
Yang Kai adopted an expression of pure innocence. "I don't recall ever doing anything to you, Divine Lord. The one who captured you back then was Senior Old Fisherman of Bright King Heaven."
The man waved his hand dismissively. "Enough with the 'Divine Lord' this and 'Divine Lord' that. I'm just a Seventh-Order now. Talk like that and people will laugh."
"Then… Brother Blood Crow?" Yang Kai raised an eyebrow.
The person standing before him was none other than Black Crow Divine Lord, whom he had encountered years ago inside the Blood Demon Cave Heaven. After cultivating the Great Extension Indestructible Blood Illumination Scripture, the man had seized the body of a disciple named Zhou Yi from the Great Thousand Blood Ground, escaping the Blood Demon Cave Heaven in the process. He had subsequently hidden within the Shattered Heaven, wreaking havoc and leaving a trail of bloodshed that claimed the lives of many disciples from various Cave Heavens and Blessed Lands.
Having originally possessed the foundation of a Divine Lord and now wielding the heretical Great Extension Indestructible Blood Illumination Scripture, his cultivation advanced with alarming speed, and his true strength far exceeded his nominal rank.
The Great Extension Indestructible Blood Illumination Scripture, in certain respects, bore a striking resemblance to Wu Kuang's Heaven-Devouring Battle Art. Both techniques drew upon external power for one's own use, though the Blood Illumination Scripture only devoured blood essence, whereas the Heaven-Devouring Battle Art devoured everything without exception — clearly the superior art.
Yang Kai had once wondered what would happen if Wu Kuang and Blood Crow ever crossed paths — which of them would devour the other? But it had remained nothing more than idle speculation; the two had never met.
During his time hiding in the Shattered Heaven, Blood Crow had adopted a new alias: Blood Crow.
Yang Kai had clashed with him on several occasions. Inside the Blood Demon Cave Heaven, had Yang Kai not ruined his plans, Blood Crow would have sealed the cave heaven entirely. Every cultivator training within would have become his blood sacrifice, their essence fueling his growth. Moreover, the cave heaven harbored remnants of various resources from his previous life. Had he absorbed them all, he might have once again manifested in the world at the Divine Lord level — at which point even the Cave Heavens and Blessed Lands might not have been able to do anything about him.
Later, in the Shattered Heaven, Yang Kai had encountered him yet another time, and they fought fiercely. Back then Yang Kai had still been only a Sixth-Order, while Blood Crow had already reached the Seventh-Order.
Relying on his superior cultivation and his Divine Lord foundation, Blood Crow hadn't taken Yang Kai the slightest bit seriously, intending to cut him down in a single exchange. But the Bull-Striking Secret Art had made him suffer terribly for his arrogance.
In the end, he had been captured by Old Fisherman of Bright King Heaven.
After that, Yang Kai had ventured deeper into the Shattered Heaven, encountering Xia Linlang, stumbling upon the Heaven and Earth Spring, being hunted down by Divine Lord Shengyang, and breaking into the Sacred Spirit Ancestral Ground — a rich and eventful chain of experiences.
Since then, Yang Kai had heard nothing further about Blood Crow. Presumably, he had been imprisoned within Bright King Heaven, stripped of his freedom.
So seeing Blood Crow here in Yin-Yang Pass came as a genuine shock. Within the broader context of the Ink Battlefield, every conflict was waged against the Ink Clan. Personal grudges between humans had long since faded in significance.
Had they crossed paths in the Three Thousand Worlds, Yang Kai would never have remained so composed. His first instinct would have been to assume Blood Crow had broken free from Bright King Heaven and was up to his old tricks again.
But here, everything was different. Every human was a comrade who could fight at your side, a partner you could depend on.