The Star Boundary was doing well, and the Lingxiao Palace was growing stronger by the day, its momentum unstoppable. What was there to worry about? The disciples of the various Cave Heavens and Blessed Lands could shed their blood on this Ink Battlefield, fighting to the death against the Ink Clan—partly out of duty, and partly because they had no worries about what they'd left behind.
The state of the Star Boundary and the Lingxiao Palace was more than enough to put Yang Kai's mind at ease.
"I really didn't expect to run into you so easily," Master Trouble sighed. "I'd planned to settle in at the Ink Battlefield first, then track you down. Who would've thought you'd be right here? Come to think of it, you're half a disciple of the Yin Yang Heaven—why didn't you go to Yin Yang Pass?"
Yang Kai shook his head. "I didn't come through the proper channels. I arrived here through a method that can't be repeated. Biluo Pass was the first human stronghold I encountered, so I settled here. But then again, fighting the Ink Clan doesn't depend on where you came from—every pass is the same."
Master Trouble studied him for a moment, then nodded. "Fair point."
Something occurred to Yang Kai, and he asked curiously, "Master, why did you come to the Ink Battlefield? You're a Dayan remnant and an Eighth Grade Open Heaven cultivator, but by all rights, you shouldn't be qualified to come here."
Master Trouble snorted softly. "Fighting the Ink Clan requires qualifications? As long as you have the will, that's enough. Don't you start lecturing this old man about qualifications—same nonsense as those old fossils in the Cave Heavens and Blessed Lands."
Yang Kai didn't know how he'd hit a nerve, so he could only smile ruefully. "Please don't be angry, Master."
Master Trouble's temper didn't cool. "It's precisely because of these damn qualifications! Ever since I advanced to Seventh Grade, I've been in contact with the Cave Heavens and Blessed Lands that were on good terms with Dayan, trying to join their disciples on the Ink Battlefield. Time and again I was rejected. This battlefield isn't their backyard—what right do they have to keep me out?"
Yang Kai didn't know how to respond. If Master Trouble hadn't brought it up himself, he never would have heard any of this. But he quietly guessed that this was probably exactly why Master Trouble held a grudge against the major Cave Heavens and Blessed Lands.
Then again, from a different perspective, weren't the Cave Heavens and Blessed Lands just trying to protect Master Trouble? Dayan had fallen, and this old man was holding on all by himself. If something happened to him on the Ink Battlefield, the Dayan lineage would probably vanish from the world entirely.
The old man probably knew this too—he just couldn't let it go.
"If they wouldn't let you come before, why allow it now?" Yang Kai asked, following the thread.
Master Trouble replied, "Your Biluo Pass was in urgent need of Artifact Refiners this time, wasn't it? This old man may be sloppy in battle, but when it comes to artifact refinement, I'm second to none. So a few of those old fossils came to me, asking me to come lend a hand. I told them to get lost—why should I go when they want me to? Am I their father? Do I have to do whatever they say?"
Yang Kai nodded repeatedly. "Exactly right. You were right to refuse, Master. But then... what made you change your mind?"
Master Trouble harrumphed. "My will is ironclad, but I couldn't withstand those old geezers pestering me day and night. I figured the Dayan lineage now has someone to carry on the legacy, so I might as well come join the fun."
Yang Kai said "oh" in understanding, secretly amused. The old man was stubborn in his own way—refuse to lead him anywhere and he wouldn't budge, but push him and he'd charge ahead on his own.
That said, it seemed Master Trouble being assigned to Biluo Pass wasn't entirely a coincidence. Biluo Pass had launched an expedition and now desperately needed Artifact Refiners. The old man was a master of the craft, so being sent here made perfect sense.
Master Trouble continued, "Of the fifteen hundred reinforcements heading to your Biluo Pass, about half are proficient in formations, alchemy, and artifact refinement. Of those, eighty percent specialize in artifact refinement. Tell me—what exactly happened at Biluo Pass? Did all your Artifact Refiners die? Why do you need so many people?"
Yang Kai laughed. "Practitioners of formations, alchemy, and artifact refinement are all specialists. No matter which pass you're at, they're protected personnel—they don't go to the front lines. As long as the pass holds, these specialists won't be harmed. Biluo Pass hasn't lost any Artifact Refiners. The reason we need you here is that Biluo Pass launched an expedition. We've established an outpost deep in Ink Clan territory, only three Domain Lords' territories away from the Ink King's City. Our soldiers there are constantly fighting the Ink Clan, so our warships and artifacts have taken heavy damage. Our original Artifact Refiners simply don't have the manpower to keep up."
"An expedition?" Master Trouble's eyes lit up. He wasn't the only one—even the other Open Heaven cultivators who had finished their registration perked up. They hadn't been eavesdropping deliberately, but Yang Kai and Master Trouble hadn't bothered to lower their voices, and as Sixth and Seventh Grade Open Heaven cultivators standing nearby, everyone could hear.
Before coming here, their sect elders had briefed them on the situation at the Ink Battlefield. They knew the general state of affairs.
But from what they understood, the human passes on the Ink Battlefield were in a purely defensive position—every hundred years or so, they had to weather a massive Ink Clan siege. They could hold their ground thanks to the passes' fortifications, but launching a devastating offensive against the Ink Clan was unthinkable.
And now, having just arrived at Biluo Pass, they were hearing that it had launched an expedition?
What electrifying news. Taking the fight to the enemy was always more thrilling than crouching behind walls.
"Senior Brother, could you tell us more about the expedition? We've just arrived. We know a little about the situation here, but only from hearsay—nothing firsthand. We're terribly curious," a young man asked.
Yang Kai turned to look. The young man was strikingly handsome—jade-like features, an imposing bearing, and a set of white robes immaculate without a speck of dust. He was truly gifted with fine looks, the kind that would stand out even among a crowd of Open Heaven cultivators. The people around him had unconsciously—or perhaps deliberately—edged slightly away, as if afraid of being overshadowed.