Cultivation was primarily a matter of one's own efforts. Since Feng Ying already had things figured out, Yang Kai naturally had nothing more to say.
In the days that followed, Dawn carried out its patrol-and-hunt missions within the designated area in strict accordance with the standing protocols. By longstanding tradition, such missions required a minimum of half a year's duration.
Two months later, Dawn sailed through the void.
Yang Kai stood on the deck using his Divine Sense to scan for enemies when Feng Ying walked over abruptly. "Captain, something's not right."
"You noticed it too," Yang Kai said, turning his head toward her.
Feng Ying nodded. "It's obvious when you think about it. This region has never been explored this deep before. The Mo Tribe is highly active here. It would make sense to send Dawn on a reconnaissance mission to probe the Mo Tribe's strength — that I could understand. But right now, besides us, the Old Turtle Squad, the Breeze Squad, and the Wild Boar Squad are all here. Five elite squads, and only the Water Snake Squad hasn't shown up. Although we haven't crossed paths with them, there's a strong chance they're here too. Why would the Army Commander place so many elite squads in this area?"
Over the past two months, Dawn had been patrolling extensively and naturally encountered other teams operating in the same region. Just as Feng Ying said, all five of Biluo Pass's elite squads were now accounted for — aside from the Water Snake Squad, which they hadn't bumped into, the other three had all made an appearance.
This was clearly unusual.
It wasn't just Dawn who had taken notice. Those other squads had probably come to the same conclusion.
Yang Kai furrowed his brow slightly, mulling it over. "If the Army Commander arranged things this way, there must be a deeper meaning behind it. He may have his reasons for not explaining openly. Then again, it's possible we're overthinking it. Because this region has never been explored this deep, he may have simply sent elite squads to investigate. If he'd sent ordinary teams, they might not be able to protect themselves."
"Even so, it's still very abnormal," Feng Ying said, shaking her head slowly.
Yang Kai smiled. "Whatever the case, the mission comes first. As for everything else, we'll adapt as we go."
While they were talking, a subtle fluctuation of qi drifted from deep within the void. The aura was remarkably unique — faint, yet unmistakably perceptible.
Yang Kai and Feng Ying both turned sharply toward the source, focusing their attention to probe it.
However, the qi appeared suddenly and vanished just as quickly. Before either of them could discern anything meaningful, it had dissipated without a trace.
Yang Kai and Feng Ying exchanged a glance, each seeing the same look of alarm in the other's eyes. They waited for a long while, but nothing else happened.
Just as they were relaxing their vigilance, that peculiar qi fluctuation appeared once more — and this time, it was noticeably stronger than before.
Yang Kai's expression changed. "Someone's advancing?"
Feng Ying nodded gravely. "It seems so."
Yang Kai immediately launched into a tirade. "What lunatic has a death wish, advancing in a place like this? Don't they know to go back to the forward base camp?"
Even as he said it, he knew that when a cultivator truly reached the threshold of a breakthrough, there was no guarantee they'd have time to find a suitable location. Over the years, plenty of people had broken through mid-battle. It wasn't something they chose to do — it was simply that in life-or-death combat against the Mo Tribe, it was easy to shatter one's own shackles and perceive auras that were normally impossible to grasp.
True, they could use the World Passage Art to instantly return to the forward base camp. But doing so risked disrupting or even severing that fleeting thread of insight, which would be highly detrimental to the subsequent advancement.
Yet advancing in this region was the height of recklessness. They were far too deep, the Mo Tribe was highly active, and if someone interrupted the breakthrough, the consequences would be unthinkable.
At the very least, if it were Yang Kai's choice, he would never advance in this location. He'd make absolutely sure to return to the forward base camp first.
But there were always exceptions. Frustrated as he was, Yang Kai could only steer Dawn toward the source of the qi.
They had detected the qi signature of this advancement, so the Mo Tribe operating in this region would certainly have detected it as well. In other words, that fluctuation was as conspicuous as a beacon in the night, and the Mo Tribe would not let such a golden opportunity pass.
As they pressed forward, the qi fluctuations grew more frequent and more pronounced — clearly reaching a point where they could no longer be suppressed.
The members of Dawn, however, picked up on something else within those fluctuations.
On the deck, Yang Kai's face was grim.
Shen Ao spoke up, his voice uncertain. "The intensity of that qi… it doesn't feel like a Seventh-Order advancement. It's more like…"
He didn't dare finish the sentence. It was simply too outrageous. But everyone understood — a Seventh-Order advancement would never produce such a powerful qi signature. This was a Seventh-Order Open Heaven cultivator advancing to the Eighth-Order!
"Who is it?" Yang Kai turned to look at Feng Ying.
Among the members of Dawn, Feng Ying had the most seniority. Yang Kai didn't need to be counted — he had only been at Biluo Pass for a little over a hundred years. The other Seventh-Order cultivators had all been brought back by him from deep within Mo Tribe territory. Feng Ying alone had lived at Biluo Pass her entire life and possessed an intimate knowledge of the people within.