Among the Dawn Company, there was one Disciple who hailed from Shura Heaven, though he was only Sixth-Order. During the usual engagements against the Mo Race army, he had no choice but to hide within the company's ranks, directing his Artifact to kill enemies from afar, with no opportunity to enter the fray himself. He had complained to Yang Kai about this on numerous occasions.
The vanguard camp's patrol-and-raid plan had finally given him a stage to showcase his abilities. Against those scattered Mo Race stragglers, this Sixth-Order warrior finally had room to prove his worth.
Of all the Dawn Company members carrying out raid missions, he was the most enthusiastic, the most ruthless in killing. On several occasions, he had even willingly thrown himself into mortal danger just to finish off his targets completely. Every time he returned from a mission, he was drenched head to toe in blood, his killing intent surging like a tide — a real oddity.
Having such a fierce fighter under his command naturally made Yang Kai pleased, though this particular warrior was something of a troublemaker.
As for martial artists from Shura Heaven, Yang Kai was quite fond of them. It was perfectly fine for young people to carry themselves with pride, so long as they had the skill to back it up.
At his side, Master Trouble quietly transmitted his voice: "This man was the most outstanding genius in Shura Heaven. He broke through to Emperor in just over a hundred years, then advanced straight to Seventh-Order twenty years ago. He should be in his early two hundreds now — his future prospects are far beyond yours, boy. He was also the first person in Star Boundary to advance directly to Seventh-Order. Together with your Disciple Zhao Ya, they're known as the Twin Prodigies of Star Boundary. When he was promoted, the higher-ups of the various Blessed Realms stationed in Star Boundary were practically going mad with joy. His successful advancement also conclusively proved that Star Boundary truly deserves its reputation as a cradle for Open Heaven Realm cultivators."
Yang Kai nodded inwardly. Calculating the timeline, when Chang Zhou had been cultivating in Star Boundary, Yang Kai had already arrived at the Mo Battlefield. No wonder he had never heard of such a remarkable figure before.
"What would you like to hear, junior brother?" Yang Kai asked with a smile.
Chang Zhou replied, "Anything about the expedition — everything is fine."
Pairs of curious eyes all around turned toward him, so Yang Kai could only give a brief account of what had transpired at Biluo Pass. Despite the fact that most of the Sixth- and Seventh-Order cultivators standing here were older than him in age, on this Mo Battlefield, he was indisputably a senior.
As he spoke of the battle that had come close to annihilating an entire Mo Race army and touched upon the many details of the expedition, the new recruits grew more and more fired up with passion. They wished they could charge into the battlefield right that instant and slaughter tens of millions of the Mo Race, so as not to waste a lifetime of cultivation.
Yang Kai found their enthusiasm amusing and saw no reason to rain on their parade. For battlefield newcomers, the eagerness to kill enemies and earn merit was only natural. After a few encounters with the Mo Race, they would come to understand just how difficult things truly were.
It took close to two hours to register all fifteen hundred people. Yang Kai then led them to the Universe Formation at Biluo Pass so they could each leave their personal imprint — a necessary precaution, since they might one day need to use the formation here to escape or travel.
Afterward, the Alchemy Hall sent representatives who took away several dozen of the newly arrived alchemists.
The alchemists did not need to go to the vanguard camp. All spirit pills could be refined right at Biluo Pass and then transported to the front lines, thus ensuring the alchemists' safety.
The Alchemy Hall's primary task at present was the refinement of Mo-Expelling Pills, which were consumed at a staggering rate. Every squad heading out on a mission needed several pills apiece, just in case. The reason the expeditionary army had been unable to push deeper before was twofold: the resistance they encountered had been too fierce, and the logistics had been unable to keep up — the consumption of Mo-Expelling Pills in particular had been especially severe.
One could say that eighty percent of the Alchemy Hall's current effort went into refining Mo-Expelling Pills.
And with the experience gained from the expeditionary army's campaign, the Alchemy Halls of the other human passes would undoubtedly shift their focus to Mo-Expelling Pill production in the future as well. A sufficient stockpile was essential before the expeditionary army could truly have the capital to stand against the Mo Race.
After returning to Biluo Pass and spending a hurried few days, the newcomers had everything prepared.
To ensure the smooth transport of all fifteen hundred people to the vanguard camp, Zhong Liang had specifically ordered the War Preparation Hall to bring out a massive tower ship.
The tower ship had three decks, stood over a dozen zhang tall, and stretched fifty zhang in length. Its presence was grand and imposing.
Though it carried some defensive capabilities, it had not yet reached the level of a mobile-formation Artifact and was essentially useless on the Mo Battlefield. This time, however, it proved handy for transporting the new recruits.
Before departure, Zhong Liang, who remained behind to garrison Biluo Pass, appeared alongside Shen Tu Mo. After exchanging a few final words with the newcomers, Zhong Liang swept his great hand forward, signaling everyone to board.
They were all Sixth- and Seventh-Order Open Heaven cultivators, moving swift as the wind. In no time, every last one of them had boarded the tower ship without exception.
Zhong Liang turned his gaze to Yang Kai. "They're all in your hands now."
"Rest easy, sir. I will deliver every last one of them to the vanguard camp intact."
Security along the route was not something Yang Kai needed to worry about. While they might encounter a few scattered Mo Race along the way, these newcomers were no clay figurines. Every one of them burned with fighting spirit, barely able to contain their eagerness to run into the Mo Race and have a real battle — to see whether the Mo Race were truly the three-headed, six-armed monsters of legend.
If they happened not to encounter any Mo Race on the road, so be it. But if they did, it would be the Mo Race's bad luck.
With the combat strength aboard this ship, there was no way they could be taken down without a Domain Lord present — and the Mo Race Domain Lords had all retreated in the direction of the Royal City. With human Eighth-Order cultivators keeping watch over them, none of them dared show their faces lightly.
Even so, Yang Kai still gave the newcomers a set of cautionary instructions, urging them to remain vigilant at all times.
The tower ship set sail. Yang Kai assigned some of the newcomers to take turns manning the formation arrays to supply the ship with power, while he personally controlled the heading.
The deck was packed with people, every one of them craning their necks to peer about, their divine sense spreading out in flickering waves. They were probably searching for any hidden enemies lurking nearby.