"Where's Brother Ouyang? He's the closest to the Legion Commander and knows the Soul-Severing Thorn best." Chen Yuan turned to look around and spotted Ouyang Lie standing in a corner. He approached eagerly. "Brother Ouyang, so you're here..."
"Get away from me! I don't know anything — don't ask me!" Ouyang Lie turned and walked off.
Chen Yuan scratched his head in confusion, unsure of how he'd offended Ouyang Lie.
The fierce battle had ended, and the Xuanming Domain fell silent once more. But both the Ink Clan and the Human Race knew this silence was only temporary — the calm before the storm.
The human army rested and recuperated carefully, while the Ink Clan's morale plummeted.
Three more Domain Lords had fallen, and their killer had slipped away unscathed. Six Arms flew into a rage, and Mo Naye seethed with frustration — but what good was resentment?
His original plan had been to pool the strength of five Domain Lords to slay Yang Kai, but it was now clear that approach was utterly futile. That man's escape abilities were second to none, and he refused to engage them head-on, leaving Mo Naye with plenty of power but nowhere to direct it.
This was the most aggravating thing of all. Since emerging from the Primordial Grand Restriction, these Ink Clan Domain Lords had never encountered an enemy so infuriating and fearsome.
But regardless, faced with the current situation, the Ink Clan had no countermeasure.
The only thing they could be grateful for was that the Human Race had only one Yang Kai. If even a few more human powerhouses of his caliber emerged, the Ink Clan would truly be in dire straits.
Xiang Shan was certainly formidable, but the Domain Lords didn't fear him too much — they could see the limits of his strength. Yang Kai's power, on the other hand, was unfathomable.
Two years later, Yang Kai emerged from seclusion again and gathered the Eighth-Order cultivators to discuss military deployment. There wasn't much to discuss — the humans had gained the upper hand in the last battle, so they simply needed to follow the same strategy.
Presumably, the Ink Clan had no answer to this either. After all, when the human army attacked, they couldn't simply not resist — and as long as they did resist, Yang Kai would have his opportunity to strike and kill.
A trick didn't need to be new — it just needed to work.
After issuing his orders and making arrangements, the Eighth-Order cultivators from each unit departed.
As for Ouyang Lie, before departing he cast Yang Kai a look of such aggrieved resentment that he resembled a wronged young bride, leaving Yang Kai thoroughly perplexed.
The human army launched another offensive. Though the last battle had brought casualties, the Recruitment Bureau in the Star Boundary had supplied considerable reinforcements over the past two years, and Yang Kai had additionally drawn a hundred thousand troops from the rear army. As a result, the Xuanming Army's current sortie was even mightier than the last.
The Ink Clan received word immediately, and every Domain Lord wore a grim expression.
Last time the human army had attacked, three Domain Lords had died. This time, who knew how many would fall.
Still, while the Domain Lords lacked the confidence to take down Yang Kai, they had at least come up with some countermeasures against his various methods.
The Domain Lords did outnumber the Eighth-Order cultivators, and moreover, several more Domain Lords had arrived from Buhui Pass as reinforcements.
Less than half a day later, the great battle erupted as the armies of both races clashed in the void, sending the very heavens and earth trembling.
This time, the humans held nothing back, deploying the Evil-Breaking Divine Spears right from the start. Two years of stockpiling had given the Xuanming Army enough reserves to spend lavishly.
Small suns detonated one after another in the void. Despite the Ink Clan's overwhelming numerical superiority, they were the ones being suppressed on the battlefield. Countless Ink Clan warriors perished under that blinding radiance, and multiple fronts collapsed temporarily.
The Xuanming Army had received their orders well in advance — all warships advanced and retreated in disciplined formation, never engaging in blind pursuits. No matter how great their advantage, they maintained strict discipline.
Amid the fierce battle, Yang Kai lurked in the shadows like a predatory beast, searching for his target.
This time the Ink Clan had clearly grown wiser. No Domain Lord was left isolated as before — they all understood that any Domain Lord caught alone would inevitably become Yang Kai's prey.
Every Domain Lord now operated in groups of three or even four, watching each other's backs and maintaining interlocking defensive positions. This did make Yang Kai's ambushes considerably more difficult.
After searching for a long while, Yang Kai finally decided to make his move.
His target was a trio of Domain Lords currently locked in combat with two human Eighth-Order cultivators. These two had already fired off five Evil-Breaking Divine Spears throughout the fight, yet even so, they'd only slightly weakened their opponents without scoring a kill.
Fortunately, the Domain Lords didn't dare fight at full strength either — just like in the last battle, all of them held back to guard against unknown ambushes.
As a result, though the two human Eighth-Order cultivators fought desperately, they could barely hold their own.
The instant a faint fluctuation of spiritual power rippled outward, the two prepared human Eighth-Order cultivators unleashed their killing moves simultaneously, charging fearlessly at their opponents.
The three Domain Lords had been on guard the entire time, but now their faces all twisted in bitter frustration. They couldn't understand their misfortune — with so many Domain Lords on the battlefield, why did Yang Kai have to target them?
Before they could even react, their souls felt as though they were being torn apart, searing with unbearable pain — they had clearly been hit.
Fortunately, they had been prepared. Though the spiritual injuries were agonizing, the three Domain Lords still instinctively retreated. But at that moment, the two human Eighth-Order cultivators had already surged forward in concert, unleashing successive killing moves to forcibly pin down one of the Domain Lords.