They spoke of how the Northern and Southern Armies had fought bloody battle after bloody battle to halt the Dayan Ink Clan's retreat to the Royal City, with heavy casualties among the fallen.
They spoke of how, when the Eastern and Western Armies withdrew from the Royal City, the Dayan Ink Clan had been thrown into panic and sued for peace with the Northern and Southern Armies, allowing the Dayan forces to reclaim Dayan without spilling a drop of blood.
One account after another, Yang Kai did his best to recount every detail of what the Dayan Army had endured over these years.
When he finished, he himself found it rather reminiscent—a century and more of warfare. Xiang Shan of the Eastern and Western Armies, Mi Jinglun of the Northern and Southern Armies, these two had deployed their strategic brilliance in military campaigns to the fullest. Had they not been stationed at their respective posts orchestrating strategy from behind the lines, even doubling the Dayan Army's strength would not have been enough to retake Dayan Pass within a hundred and fifty years.
Yuan Xingge sat in silence, his thoughts unreadable.
The Ancestor nodded repeatedly after listening. "You've worked hard all these years."
Yang Kai did not presume to claim credit. He cupped his fists and said, "This Disciple was merely a foot soldier at the front. It was the senior commanders who poured their hearts and souls into every decision that brought about today's situation."
The Ancestor glanced at him with a smile, clearly satisfied by his modesty.
But the Ancestor understood—perhaps the young man before him did not even realize what an enormous change his arrival had brought to the entire Ink Battlefield.
Setting aside the Purifying Light that could disperse and cleanse the power of Ink, there were the large quantities of Ink-Expelling Pills that every pass was now preparing to refine, which this young man had discovered while exploring a secret realm. And every Ink-Expelling Ship in the various armies bore his handiwork.
Now the human warriors could harvest resources with ease, thanks to the Void Yin-Yang Mirror—no more days of scrimping and saving.
Without these advantages, what would the humans have used to retake Dayan? And what would they use for their future expeditions?
One could say that though this young man's cultivation was not particularly high, he appeared to be the key figure capable of shifting the balance of the entire Ink Battlefield. For such a person, even a Ninth-Order Supreme would not look down on him, for often, when someone like this did not even realize their own significance, they could leverage small forces to move the great tide—enough to influence the fate of an entire race.
The Ancestor asked nothing more. He had only called Yang Kai over to learn about the Dayan Army's campaigns over the years. Now that he knew, there was no need for further words.
The Ancestor continued feeding tender grass to his green cattle, looking for all the world like an old mountain farmer, bearing not the slightest trace of his overwhelming might.
Yuan Xingge led Yang Kai in taking their leave.
Before departing, the Ancestor gave Yang Kai several dozen catties of beef as reward for his journey. The beef was remarkably fresh—the blood had not yet dried, as if the animal had just been slaughtered.
After exiting the Ancestor's Small World, Yang Kai stood there holding those several dozen catties of bloody beef, his face full of anticipation as he asked Yuan Xingge, "Sir, this beef from the Ancestor… is there something special about it?"
He had not dared ask in front of the Ancestor.
Now that they were out, he could not hold back. If he did not get a clear answer, he would not be at ease.
Yuan Xingge considered for a moment, then replied, "The texture is quite good?"
Yang Kai's face darkened. "Sir, you know that's not what I mean…" He made a series of meaningful expressions, then decided to be direct. "This beef from the Ancestor—after eating it, does it have any special effects?"
Yuan Xingge said, "You've seen the green cattle the Ancestor raises. Did they appear to have any extraordinary bloodline?"
Yang Kai thought for a moment, then shook his head. "They're just ordinary green cattle."
Yuan Xingge gave him a sidelong look. "Then what were you expecting?"
Yang Kai was struck speechless, but not quite ready to give up. "This beef—it comes from those cattle of the Ancestor's?"
Yuan Xingge dodged the question entirely. "My advice is to go home and boil it into soup. The beef from the Ancestor's cattle is always quite tough—not very tasty."
He said it with the air of someone speaking from experience.
Yang Kai did not know whether to laugh or cry. He gazed at the several dozen catties of bloody beef in his hands, let out a sigh, and quietly stored it away.
It was a gift from the Ancestor after all. He would boil it into soup later and share it with the members of the Dawn Team. Everyone had been working hard through all these years of fighting.
Returning to the hall where the spatial teleportation array was located, the Eighth-Order cultivators were still waiting and had not left in a hurry.
Yuan Xingge asked, "Brother Tianlu hasn't returned yet?"
An Eighth-Order cultivator shook his head. "No word so far."
Yuan Xingge nodded, then looked at Yang Kai. "What about you? Wait here?"
Yang Kai cupped his fists. "This Disciple came to test the spatial array's effectiveness. Now that it has succeeded, I should return to Dayan."
Yuan Xingge said, "Very well, then go."
He instructed the soldiers guarding the area to prepare the materials for teleportation. Soon, Yang Kai stood at the center of the array, activated it, and when the spatial gate opened, his figure vanished.
He had been wary of encountering another incident like the last time, but this journey went without a hitch.
Before long, Yang Kai's figure materialized on the teleportation array at Dayan Pass. A group of formation masters gathered around him, asking about what had happened earlier.
Yang Kai gave a brief account of his experience, though he could not make sense of it himself.
"Did anyone just come through from Fengyun Pass?"