Master Mafan was merely an epithet — it did not mean he was simply an Artifact Refining Master. In truth, he was capable of forging Palace Artifacts, making him a Grand Master-level figure. Combined with his Eighth Rank Open Heaven cultivation, he was more than qualified to sit on equal footing with Dongguo Anping of Shending Heaven, whom Yang Kai had once encountered.
"Kid Yang!" Master Mafan's face was filled with surprise, as if he had never expected to run into Yang Kai in a place like this.
Over a century ago, Yang Kai had ventured deep into the Black Domain through a Void Corridor, never to return — his whereabouts unknown, his fate uncertain. This was no secret back in the Three Thousand Worlds; many who had been involved in the Black Domain incident were well aware of it.
Although news could be relayed from the Ink Battlefield to the Three Thousand Worlds, the matter of Yang Kai was known only to a select few among the higher-ups of the Grotto-heavens and Blessed Lands. Master Mafan had been completely in the dark. This time, when he had volunteered to come to the Ink Battlefield, he never imagined he would encounter Yang Kai here.
The joy of reuniting with an old friend was beyond words.
But before they had exchanged more than a couple of sentences, Master Mafan suddenly made a pained face. "Kid Yang, find us an open area. This old man is about to burst."
Yang Kai asked in surprise, "What do you mean, about to burst?"
Master Mafan replied, "You didn't think it was just us who came, did you? There are plenty more inside my Minor World."
Yang Kai understood in an instant. That was why, among all those who had been teleported over, aside from Master Mafan being the sole Eighth Rank, every single one of the rest was a Seventh Rank Open Heaven cultivator.
Transporting people here from No Return Pass required an enormous expenditure of resources, but if a higher-rank Open Heaven cultivator took lower-rank Open Heaven cultivators into their Minor World, the resource consumption could be drastically reduced.
No Return Pass had always done it this way — Yang Kai simply lacked experience since this was his first time welcoming newcomers.
He apologized and hurried ahead to lead the way.
Before long, they arrived at a plaza — the same place Yang Kai had stayed when he first came to Biluo Pass, and where the first Mo-Expelling Ship had been constructed.
The plaza was enormous. In peacetime, the soldiers liked to spar and demonstrate their techniques here, and the place would usually be bustling with noise. But now it stood empty and silent, since virtually all of Biluo Pass's soldiers had gone to the Forward Outpost, with only a small contingent left behind.
Once they reached the plaza, everyone spread out and kept their distance from one another. Then, one by one, the gates to their Minor Worlds opened, and figures began emerging from them in steady succession.
They were all Sixth Rank Open Heaven cultivators!
Yang Kai had assumed that the newcomers coming to Biluo Pass wouldn't be too numerous — a few hundred at most. But when over a hundred gates opened simultaneously and Sixth Rank cultivators kept filing out one after another, he realized he had been wrong.
Master Mafan's Minor World alone had accommodated over forty people. The other Seventh Rank cultivators had smaller Minor Worlds, but each had still brought along a dozen or so.
Once everyone had emerged, Yang Kai was stunned to discover that the newcomers numbered a full fifteen hundred!
That was an enormous number, after all, everyone standing here was Sixth Rank or above. In other words, just from Biluo Pass alone, each Cave Heaven and Blessed Land had sent over a hundred Sixth and Seventh Rank Open Heaven cultivators as reinforcements — and that didn't even account for reinforcements sent to other passes.
What other Sect in the Thirty Thousand Worlds could compare to such a foundation? Even Void Great World and Star Boundary — how many Sixth Rank cultivators did they have now? How many Seventh Rank? Even if they emptied themselves out entirely, they couldn't compare to the reinforcements from any single one of these powers.
The Cave Heavens and Blessed Lands had passed down their legacies for so many countless years, and the sheer depth of their accumulated strength was plain for all to see.
A streak of light suddenly shot out from somewhere within Biluo Pass and came to a halt in midair — it was Zhong Liang.
Everyone looked up. Zhong Liang nodded slightly and called out in a clear voice, "I commend you all for making the long journey here. This is Biluo Pass, and I am Zhong Liang, the Commander of the Western Army."
The crowd bowed in unison, and Zhong Liang returned the courtesy before continuing, "You each come from different Cave Heavens and Blessed Lands, and every one of you is an elite talent within your respective Sects. However, the Ink Battlefield is not the same as the Thirty Thousand Worlds. You must remember one thing: regardless of which Cave Heaven or Blessed Land you came from, once you arrived at Biluo Pass, you are Biluo Pass's soldiers. Here, we have only one enemy — the Ink Race. For generations untold, our predecessors have spilled their blood and burned their lives in this void, all to keep the Ink Race from ever stepping into the Thirty Thousand Worlds. Over the countless years, the number of prodigies who have fallen on this battlefield is beyond counting. The next to fall may be me, or it may be one of you. But so long as the Cave Heavens and Blessed Lands endure, the Ink Race will never set foot in the Thirty Thousand Worlds — not one step."
"You all come from the Cave Heavens and Blessed Lands, and your elders surely gave you words of parting before your departure. You will grow familiar with Biluo Pass and the Ink Battlefield in due time, so I won't belabor the point. I have only one thing to ask you to engrave in your hearts: do everything you can to stay alive. These words come from the bottom of my heart, and I offer them as a shared resolve between us."
"I still have my duties to attend to, so I cannot stay long. Yang Kai, take them to be registered."