Fu Guang wasn't reprimanding them, nor was his tone harsh — it seemed like a casual question. Yet it sent a chill through everyone's hearts. Indeed, if they lost their nerve just seeing this endless darkness, how could they ever find the courage to face it head-on in the future?
They immediately cupped their fists and replied respectfully, "We have been enlightened!"
Yang Kai took a step forward. "I'll go take a look."
By the time his words faded, his figure was already gradually dissolving, drawing a raised eyebrow from Fu Guang. The flavor of the Dao of Space in his steps was no less refined than that of the Phoenix Queen when she was still alive.
The Dragon Race's innate Dao was the Dao of Time; the Phoenix Race's was the Dao of Space.
For a Dragon to have mastered the Dao of Time was one thing, but to have achieved such proficiency in the Dao of Space as well — that was what truly astonished Fu Guang.
When great calamity loomed, heroes were sure to emerge. In the vast tide of the struggle between the human and Ink races for dominion over the myriad heavens, there would always need to be one extraordinary individual capable of turning the tide.
Watching Yang Kai's retreating figure, Fu Guang lost himself in thought for a moment. He knew — that person was not him.
Outside the Primordial Heaven Great Restriction, Yang Kai's arrival seemed to part a gateway in the darkness. He stepped through and immediately spotted Wu Kuang sitting cross-legged within.
The instant he laid eyes on Wu Kuang, Yang Kai's pupils contracted sharply. He activated both the Solar and Lunar Marks simultaneously, and yellow and blue light erupted and merged, forming a massive sphere of Purifying Light that descended over Wu Kuang.
Wu Kuang — his entire body pitch-black, his features nearly unrecognizable — was immediately engulfed by the Purifying Light. A crackling sound rang out as the vast power of Ink was cleansed away.
As the light dispersed and Wu Kuang returned to his normal appearance, he stared blankly. "What the hell are you doing?"
Yang Kai replied calmly, "I need to confirm that I'm looking at the human Wu Kuang, and not an Ink Slave!"
Anyone else who had seen Wu Kuang's appearance just moments ago would have undoubtedly concluded he'd been corrupted by Ink. After all, the power of Ink had been roiling across his entire body — it looked anything but normal.
"What about now?" Wu Kuang shot back.
Yang Kai said, "You should be fine now. But if it's convenient, I'd still like to take a look at your Small Cosmos."
Wu Kuang snorted. "If I were an Ink Slave, I'd have woken the old thing inside long ago and broken the Primordial Heaven Great Restriction already."
"Hard to say. The All-Devouring Emperor is full of schemes — who knows what kind of plot you might be hatching."
Wu Kuang couldn't be bothered to argue. Without revealing what technique he'd employed, dense power of Ink was drawn toward him. Under the activation of his Devouring Heaven Battle Art, his body became like a bottomless pit, devouring and refining the energy. He didn't forget to warn Yang Kai, "Don't go doing anything rash. You have no idea how troublesome it is to steal from someone else's home — especially when you can't disturb the sleeping master. Besides, didn't you give me a World Tree sapling? With a sapling sealing my Small Cosmos, it's not so easy for the power of Ink to corrode me."
When Yang Kai showed no sign of being convinced, Wu Kuang sneered, "Watch it, or I'll beat you up!"
As he spoke, he briefly let his aura flare.
Yang Kai immediately sat cross-legged before him. When you've got the bigger fists, what you say goes!
The guy had indeed advanced to the Ninth Grade — his words from three thousand years ago hadn't been empty boasts.
Yang Kai marveled anew at the astonishing power of the Devouring Heaven Battle Art. What a shame that such a heaven-defying dark technique could only be wielded to its full potential by someone like Wu Kuang.
Still, the fact that he had risen from the Seventh to the Ninth Grade in just three thousand years owed much to this extraordinary environment.
The power of Ink was also a form of energy. Stationed here, where the power of Ink was inexhaustible and boundless, and with the Devouring Heaven Battle Art at his disposal along with the Defilement-Free Golden Lotus and World Tree sapling for protection, Wu Kuang had been able to achieve what ordinary people could never accomplish in three thousand years.
Remove any single one of these conditions, and Wu Kuang could never have advanced to the Ninth Grade in such a short time.
"Senior, there's something I'd like to ask you." Yang Kai said with a solemn expression.
Wu Kuang chuckled softly.
Call him Wu Kuang when there was nothing to ask, then "Senior" when he needed a favor. This kid was still as annoying as ever...
"Speak!" Wu Kuang said offhandedly.
"The Opening Heaven technique passed down from the Ten Martial Ancestors has its flaws. How did you manage to avoid those flaws and advance all the way to the Ninth Grade, Senior?"
Wu Kuang's current body had once belonged to the Great Demon God Mo Sheng. After Mo Sheng was slain, Wu Kuang's soul had taken residence within it — not quite a possession, but rather a resurrection in another sense.
Yang Kai still remembered that the first time he'd seen Wu Kuang again after leaving the Star Boundary, the guy had already reached the Fifth Grade of Opening Heaven.
In other words, Wu Kuang should have jumped directly to the Fifth Grade back then. Theoretically, his limit would have been the Seventh Grade. Yet now, he was already at the Ninth Grade.
This said a great deal.