What left Fu Guang utterly perplexed was why Yang Kai's phantom had appeared within the projection space of the Heaven and Earth Furnace! What had this fellow done to cause such a bizarre phenomenon?
Equally puzzled were the powerhouses of both races across every Domain battlefield.
Yang Kai's phantom had not only manifested in the projection space outside the Primordial Great Restriction — it had appeared simultaneously in every location where a projection space existed. This was nothing short of an unprecedented spectacle!
In the Bipolar Domain, the armies of the Human Race and the Ink Clan had arrayed themselves on opposite sides of the projection space, locked in a standoff.
Lately, both races had been pulling back their forces, and no conflicts had erupted. The Heaven and Earth Furnace was on the verge of revealing itself, and with the situation still uncertain, both Humans and Ink Clansmen had become extraordinarily cautious, unwilling to give the other side any opening to exploit.
The current standoff was a prelude to the fight for control over the entrance.
The Heaven and Earth Furnace represented an immense boon, a once-in-an-eon opportunity. The Humans would fight for it, and the Ink Clan would naturally never let them have their way. This present calm was merely the stillness before the storm.
Although there were no shortage of projection spaces, it was foreseeable that once these spaces transformed into entrances to the Heaven and Earth Furnace, a massive war between the two races would erupt. Whoever controlled more entrances could funnel more of their powerhouses inside.
Right here, right now, when Yang Kai's phantom appeared in the projection space, two Human Race Eighth-Order masters stood shoulder to shoulder, keeping a wary eye on the Domain Lords on the Ink Clan's side.
There were quite a few Eighth-Order cultivators like them, and the Ink Clan's Domain Lords were equally numerous.
Suddenly, one of them cried out in alarm, "Junior Brother Fang — it's the Dao Lord! It's the Dao Lord!"
Only a disciple from the Void Dao Academy would address Yang Kai as Dao Lord, and the speaker was Liu Jingshan, a close friend Fang Tianci had made during his time at the Void Dao Academy.
Ever since departing the Void Dao Academy and advancing directly to the Sixth-Order at the Star Boundary, and after thousands of years of cultivation since, Liu Jingshan had himself reached the Eighth-Order.
Even so, his reverence for the Dao Lord was as undiminished as ever.
Practically every warrior hailing from the Void Dao Academy harbored a blind, fervent devotion to Yang Kai as their Dao Lord — and that devotion only grew stronger as their own cultivation deepened.
Standing beside Liu Jingshan was, naturally, Fang Tianci. He nodded at the words, saying, "It's only a phantom."
Back when the Anti-Ink Army was first established, Yang Xiao's squad had been conscripted into service. Fang Tianci, originally a member of that squad, had voluntarily requested to stay behind. Mi Jinglun, who oversaw such matters, had no reason to make things difficult for him.
Over the years, Fang Tianci had been operating in the Bipolar Domain, fighting alongside Liu Jingshan against the enemy. Because the various divine abilities he cultivated and his combat habits bore a certain resemblance to Yang Kai's, people had taken to comparing him with Yang Kai, and the nickname "Little Yang Kai" had gradually stuck. His reputation was far from negligible, and the Ink Clan had targeted him on multiple occasions, fearing he might one day grow into another Yang Kai — yet he had evaded every attempt and escaped unscathed each time.
After all, Fang Tianci's attainments in the Dao of Space were considerable. Even when the Ink Clan specifically targeted him, they found it exceedingly difficult to succeed.
Frowning as he studied the phantom, Fang Tianci's mind churned with confusion...
Why would this man's phantom appear inside the Heaven and Earth Furnace's projection space?
But upon further reflection, this was someone whose actions had always been wildly unpredictable — capable of doing things no one could foresee. His phantom turning up here, now that he thought about it, actually seemed... rather normal?
He let out a wry chuckle and let the matter go.
Sharing Fang Tianci's sentiment was the Beast Emperor Lei Ying, situated in the Qingyang Domain.
This Beast Race powerhouse had advanced to Beast Emperor in the Myriad Beast World years ago as only a Fifth-Order — equivalent to a mere Fifth-Order Open Heaven among the Humans — yet the occasion had drawn congratulations from all directions. Even the Human powerhouses stationed in the Myriad Beast World had shown him not the slightest disrespect.
The reason was simple: Lei Ying was not merely a Beast Emperor, but a Beast Emperor acknowledged by the Heavenly Dao of the Myriad Beast World itself!
Over the years, Lei Ying had spent most of his time in seclusion within the Myriad Beast World. Bolstered by the power of the World Tree and the collective might of the entire Myriad Beast World, this Beast Emperor's cultivation had advanced with breathtaking speed. In just two thousand years, he had broken through the Sixth-Order and the Seventh-Order. Three hundred years ago, he had emerged from seclusion as an Eighth-Order Beast Emperor, charging ferociously into the Qingyang Domain. Relying on the primal ferocity of the Beast Race and his overwhelming strength, he had unleashed a storm of bloodshed across the Qingyang Domain. No fewer than five Ink Clan Domain Lords had perished beneath his leopard claws, forging him a fearsome reputation.
Many Beast Race warriors from the Myriad Beast World had been taken as mounts by Human powerhouses. Under the protection of their Human partners, Beast Race warriors often advanced their cultivation more rapidly and could fight alongside Humans with greater coordination.
But for this Emperor Lei Ying, no Human powerhouse had ever harbored the notion of subduing him. After all, he was a Beast Emperor who had been acknowledged by the Heavenly Dao of the Myriad Beast World, one who cultivated by the ancient methods. In terms of future potential, ninety-nine percent of Humans could not compare. Who would dare presume to claim him as a mount?
What was known, however, was that he maintained an extremely close relationship with a small human faction called Qinghong Pavilion — because in his youth, when he had been weak and vulnerable, disciples of Qinghong Pavilion had shown him considerable care and kindness.
At this very moment, in the Qingyang Domain, a leopard radiating bolts of lightning sat motionless, its gaze fixed upon the projection space before it. It had not taken human form — not because it chose not to, but because it could not. Beast Race warriors who cultivated by the ancient methods refined their inner cores as their foundation, and the more powerful the inner core, the stronger the Beast Race warrior's power — but the harder it became to assume human form. For a peak Beast Race powerhouse like Emperor Lei Ying, transformation was entirely out of the question.
Beside him sat a man and a woman — Qin Xue and her husband, both disciples of Qinghong Pavilion. The couple each possessed Seventh-Order Open Heaven cultivation. Such a level was nothing remarkable in the Qingyang Domain, but with Emperor Lei Ying's protection, their safety was assured. Over the years, they had fought alongside Lei Ying against many powerful enemies.