After years of cultivation, through thorns and hardships along the way, when his Martial Dao path had long stalled with no further progress, he had now finally reached the Ninth Rank! Yang Kai's heart brimmed with emotion and sighs of wonder!
Within his body, the domain of his Small Universe expanded, his foundation growing ever stronger, and his already formidable aura continued to surge upward.
But this growth had an ultimate limit. After a moment, the Small Universe settled, and his aura stabilized at a brand-new peak.
During this brief instant when Yang Kai was preoccupied, the two surviving Pseudo-King Lords had already fled back into the Ink Race camp. Their companion's sudden death had utterly terrified them — they had no courage left to stand and face Yang Kai's might head-on. Naturally, running toward the denser ranks of their allies felt far safer.
The Ink Race still had nearly ten Pseudo-King Lords and a whole host of Domain Lords on their side. Even though Yang Kai had advanced to the Ninth Rank, if he charged in, they might still have the strength to fight him.
Yang Kai didn't seem to have any intention of charging over. Instead, he casually reached out and grabbed — under the activation of the Space Daō, a figure was pulled toward him from across the distance.
It was Lin Wu, who had previously ambushed him and caused the Eight Trigrams Formation to collapse. Lin Wu had been lingering nearby, likely looking for an opportunity to ambush Yang Kai. But events had unfolded too quickly — Yang Kai had inexplicably advanced to the Ninth Rank and slain a Pseudo-King Lord with a single thrust. He'd had no fitting moment to strike.
Moreover, he was merely a newly advanced Eighth Rank. Even if he had attacked, he might not have made much difference in a battle of this scale.
Now, suddenly seized by Yang Kai, he instinctively tried to resist. But under the restraint of the Space Daō, he didn't even have the strength to move a finger.
The next moment, a blindingly pure white light enveloped him. Lin Wu let out a piercing scream as the Ink Force within his body surged outward, being utterly purified and driven clean away.
Yang Kai finally released him. Lin Wu's face was twisted with agonized guilt. "Senior Brother Yang, I—"
Yang Kai cut him off. "No need for words. Just kill the enemy!"
Lin Wu gritted his teeth and replied, "Yes!" He glanced around for a moment, then turned and flew toward Tian Xiuzhu and the others.
At this point, the vast battlefield had split into four sections. One was naturally Yang Xue facing Mo Naye. Another was the Ink Race's numerous powerhouses besieging the human cultivators. A third was Ouyang Lie fighting Xiao You and eight Domain Lords in concert. And the last was Tian Xiuzhu's Five Elements Formation battling Meng Que, the Pseudo-King Lord.
Earlier, Tian Xiuzhu had led the group that sent Lin Wu and Zhan Tianhe to help Yang Kai maintain the Eight Trigrams Formation. They had been stuck outside ever since, unable to return to their own camp, and could only tangle with Meng Que out in the open.
Surveying these four battlefields, Lin Wu couldn't intervene in the fight between a Ninth Rank and a King Lord. The human camp was surrounded by Ink Race powerhouses, and he couldn't break through their lines. The only place he could go was Tian Xiuzhu's side — perhaps he could join them and form a Six Harmonies Formation with Tian Xiuzhu and the others to face the enemy.
There had originally been another battlefield where Yang Kai fought three Pseudo-King Lords together. But now, of those three, one was dead and two had fled. Yang Kai had freed himself.
As Lin Wu departed, Yang Kai also advanced with his spear. The River of Time and Space coiled around the weapon.
Mo Naye's mind instantly fell into turmoil. There was no mistaking it — Yang Kai was heading straight for him!
He had been barely holding his own against Yang Xue alone. Although he was at a slight disadvantage due to his existing injuries, it was nothing serious. This kind of fight was essentially a stalemate — he couldn't kill Yang Xue, and Yang Xue certainly couldn't kill him.
But if Yang Kai joined in as well, with that killing star's myriad bizarre and uncanny techniques — would he even have a chance of survival?
In the span of a lightning flash, Mo Naye roared fiercely, "At any cost, kill the human powerhouses! Otherwise, it will be too late!"
At his command, the Ink Race powerhouses intensified their assault by a full three degrees. On that battlefield, the humans had already been outmatched in both numbers and quality. The situation had been dire, and the fact that they'd held on until now was largely thanks to the protection of their warships.
But by this point in the battle, all of the humans' warships had been destroyed. Now they relied entirely on the Eighth Ranks fighting in concert, and the Ink Race's own concern for casualties, to hold the line — but they wouldn't be able to hold for much longer.
Once the defensive line broke, the Ink Race, led by their numerous Pseudo-King Lords, would inevitably unleash a massacre upon the humans. When that happened, the losses on the human side would be catastrophic.
Previously, the Ink Race had exercised some restraint in fighting the humans. But now, with Mo Naye's order, they held nothing back. They were truly sparing no cost.
Yang Kai's steps toward Mo Naye paused briefly, then resumed their original course. Before he even arrived, a casual thrust of his spear was already aimed at Mo Naye, accompanied by a cold shout: "Good scheme!"
Mo Naye, still entangled with Yang Xue, blanched. Yang Kai had thrust from a great distance, yet he felt an almost indefensible sensation — as though the spear were striking from extremely close range, piercing straight toward his vitals.
Mo Naye's body shuddered and his Ink Force surged outward in torrents. As he retreated hastily, the tip of a spear rapidly enlarged in his field of vision, quickly filling his entire view.
Defense was futile. Evasion was impossible. Mo Naye roared in fury, channeling all his power into a single palm and striking out violently.
A violent shockwave rippled outward in circular halos of light. As Mo Naye's body was sent tumbling, a streak of sword light arrived in a killing strike, slashing down at him with incomprehensible speed — three consecutive cuts.
It was Yang Xue making her move!
Mo Naye saw all three strikes with perfect clarity. If it were only Yang Xue, he could have coped. But right now, with Yang Kai attacking him simultaneously, where would he find the spare strength?