Yang Kai had been trapped inside the Universe Furnace, with no word from him for over six hundred years, his fate unknown. This was undoubtedly a blow to the Human Race, especially with the full-scale war between the Human Race and the Ink Race already underway.
Though the Human Race now had a handful of Ninth-Order Open Heaven experts, none among them possessed a decisive advantage when facing those Pseudo-King Lords.
Even veteran Ninth-Order experts like Xiao Xiao and Wu Qing couldn't manage it.
In Mi Jinglun's estimation, the only person who might have been capable of such a feat was Yang Kai! Back when the Ink Race was holding those great domain battlefields, had Yang Kai been present, the war would not have been nearly as grueling.
He had originally thought that Yang Kai might not have a chance to break free until the Universe Furnace opened again. He never expected that Yang Kai would suddenly appear at this very moment.
Mi Jinglun was utterly astonished and couldn't help but ask, "How did you manage to escape the Universe Furnace?"
"The Universe Furnace?" Yang Kai was taken aback, but quickly realized that Mi Jinglun must have gotten something wrong. Thinking about it, it made sense — with no word from him all these years, anyone would naturally assume he'd been trapped inside the Universe Furnace.
He couldn't help but laugh: "I wasn't trapped in the Universe Furnace. It took me to the Edge of Heaven and Earth, and it took some time to make my way back."
"The Edge of Heaven and Earth?" Mi Jinglun looked completely bewildered.
"It's a long story." Yang Kai waved his hand, unwilling to dwell on the matter. The war between the two races was the priority right now. The fact that the Universe Furnace had created a world within Chaos was something others wouldn't gain much use from even if they learned of it — at best it would broaden their horizons, and it was all hearsay anyway, nothing compared to the spectacle he had witnessed firsthand.
Mi Jinglun didn't press further, though a seed of doubt remained in his mind. Where exactly was the Edge of Heaven and Earth? And if even someone of Yang Kai's abilities had taken several hundred years to return, just how impossibly distant must that place be?
Gathering his composure, Mi Jinglun said, "Your return couldn't have come at a better time. There are things that need your hand."
Previously, he and numerous staff officers had been discussing the battle in a particular great domain, and had been troubled by a lack of personnel to deploy. Yang Kai's return was timely in the extreme.
Yang Kai nodded. "Senior Brother, just give me your orders."
"Come inside." Mi Jinglun took Yang Kai by the arm and led him into the great hall.
Shortly after, everyone was seated.
Mi Jinglun said, "Let me first brief you on the current situation between the two races."
Yang Kai nodded. This was exactly what he urgently needed to learn. The full-scale war had already broken out when the Universe Furnace appeared, and more than six hundred years had passed since the Furnace closed. Over such a long stretch of time, he knew nothing about how the war had progressed or how the situation stood.
He had previously asked Zhan Wuhen, but Zhan Wuhen's knowledge wasn't comprehensive either, and hadn't gone into detail with Yang Kai.
When it came to understanding the current landscape between the two races, the General Bureau naturally had the most thorough picture.
And so, Mi Jinglun gave a brief account of the warfare over the past several hundred years.
Only then did Yang Kai learn that the Human Race had already reclaimed no fewer than two hundred great domains, and the great domain battlefields where the two armies had been locked in combat had long since been recovered.
Yang Kai immediately sensed something was off. Though the Human Race had produced several Ninth-Order and numerous Eighth-Order experts during the Universe Furnace's appearance, and their strength had increased considerably, it shouldn't have been enough to achieve such sweeping victories.
He had assumed the war was still being fought across those dozen or so great domain battlefields, because from what he knew of the Ink Race, the number of Pseudo-King Lords they currently fielded surely wouldn't be small. Even with a handful of Ninth-Order experts, the Human Race couldn't have reclaimed so many domains.
It wasn't until Mi Jinglun mentioned Mo Na'ye that the realization dawned.
The Ink Race had been yielding ground to advance — stretching the front lines thin, dispersing the Human Race's forces and energy. Surrendering over two hundred great domains cost the Ink Race relatively little, while the Human Race, after reclaiming those territories, needed to station troops to defend them, lest the Ink Race recapture them and sever contact with the front.
But this was a brazen open strategy by the Ink Race, and even with full awareness of their intentions, Mi Jinglun could do nothing about it. He could only have the Human Race's various armies advance methodically, consolidating their positions and leaving no openings.
Over these years, the Ink Race had launched numerous operations targeting the reclaimed domains, but they were mostly minor skirmishes — nothing of real consequence — and all had been thwarted by the stationed garrisons.