Chapter 5865: Passing the Torch

"Is everything ready?" Yang Kai looked toward the floating continent where the General Headquarters was located. Every time he came here, it was bustling with people, shoulder to shoulder, with cultivators constantly flying to and fro.

But at this moment, the entire floating continent was eerily deserted, without a single soul in sight.

Even the vast Pure Yang Pass was occupied by Mi Jinglun alone, who was clearly waiting for him.

To prepare for the impending war, the Human Race had truly exhausted all its reserves this time. Not to mention anything else, even the Myriad Dao Secret Realm that Yang Kai had personally crafted over twenty years ago now existed in name only. The secret realm was still there, but not a trace of Grand Dao power remained within it. Even if one entered for training now, no benefit could be gained.

Such a massive secret realm, drained by the Human Race's soldiers in just over twenty years, had produced a large batch of Eighth-Order Open Heaven cultivators. Many who were already at the Eighth Order had also benefited, their Grand Dao comprehension deepened and their strength enhanced.

After years of arming and training, the Human Race had put every measure into action. The Human Race at this moment could be called the most powerful it had ever been!

"Everything is ready!" Mi Jinglun replied.

Yang Kai grinned. "Then let's begin."

As his words fell, he unleashed his River of Time and Space. The winding great river circled around the magnificent Pure Yang Pass like a colossal dragon coiling about it, enveloping the entire pass. As Yang Kai continuously channeled the power of the Grand Dao, the void where the Pure Yang Pass sat was peeled away and gradually compressed.

The reason Mi Jinglun had waited for Yang Kai here was primarily because the Pure Yang Pass could not be taken away. On the Human Race's side, apart from Yang Kai, no one else could do anything about such a massive fortress.

Even Yang Kai had to rely on the River of Time and Space, using an almost trick-like method to refine the void containing the Pure Yang Pass into something akin to a World Pearl.

Of course, with the depth of his current Small Universe, he might have been able to absorb the Pure Yang Pass into it. But such a colossal structure, if truly placed inside his Small Universe, would place an enormous burden on him and inconvenience subsequent operations. So Yang Kai once again unleashed the River of Time and Space, as he had done before.

The power of the Grand Dao continued to oscillate, and the River of Time and Space enveloping Pure Yang Pass compressed at a speed visible to the naked eye. A full half-hour later, it was reduced to a fist-sized World Pearl.

Yang Kai stored it away and called to Mi Jinglun. "Let's go."

Mi Jinglun cast one last glance at the floating continent where the General Headquarters stood, then quickly withdrew his gaze and departed alongside Yang Kai.

After transiting through several Domain Gates, within just a few short days, Yang Kai and Mi Jinglun arrived at the Black Domain. Looking out across the vast expanse of void, warships blanketed the sky in every direction, ship after ship packed so densely they were beyond counting.

Most of these warships were standard fleet-class vessels, though there were also no small number of Ink Purging Ships, guarded by the fleet-class warships around them, standing out strikingly.

Even Yang Kai, who had experienced countless great wars, was momentarily dazed at the sight before him in the Black Domain.

Back when the Human Race's army had launched its great expedition against the Great Primitive Sealed Realm, the fleet had been sizable, but that was, after all, only the combined strength of a little over a hundred passes.

But now, this represented all the reserves the Human Race had left. The Human Race of those years, whether in the number of Open Heaven Realm cultivators or the scale of its fleet, could not hold a candle to the present.

The only area where the current Human Race fell short of those years was in the number of Ninth Orders.

In that era, the Human Race had over a hundred Ninth Orders, but now there were fewer than ten.

"Hmm? There's one more Ninth Order?" Yang Kai looked toward a direction in surprise. The moment he arrived at the Black Domain, he had sensed a somewhat unfamiliar Ninth-Order aura—not Shi Dazhuang, who had recently advanced over twenty years ago, but someone he did not recognize.

"Tang Tao of the Jinling Blessed Land. I'm not sure if you've heard of her." Mi Jinglun offered a casual explanation. "She advanced five years ago."

Five years ago—calculating the time, that was exactly when he had gone to the Myriad Beast World to cultivate using the power of that world's cosmos.

"A woman?" Yang Kai was taken aback.

Hearing his tone, Mi Jinglun said in surprise, "Do you have a prejudice against women, Junior Brother?"

"Not at all. I'm just a bit surprised."

"That's for the best." Mi Jinglun smiled. "This Junior Sister Tang has a bit of a prejudice against men. If you run into her later and she says something unpleasant, don't take it to heart."

Yang Kai chuckled. "I certainly won't stoop to her level."

Mi Jinglun sighed. "The new era has already arrived. If the Human Race had another thousand years... no, even two hundred more years, conquering the Returnless Pass would be effortless. But alas, time does not wait for us."

Shi Dazhuang's breakthrough marked the dawn of the new era, representing the fact that the younger generation who had benefited from the sub-tree's nourishing power had finally grown to maturity.

This was the hope of the Human Race's future, the dawn before sunrise. As veteran Open Heaven cultivators like Mi Jinglun, they felt genuinely gratified.

To be born human in this chaotic era meant fearing neither death nor pain. What was feared was having no one to carry on—that those who came after would lack the ability to shoulder the burden left by their predecessors.

In just twenty years, two new Ninth Orders had emerged on the Human Race's side. They believed that in the future, more and more Ninth Orders would appear.

The two proceeded onward without concealing their auras. As they passed, countless soldiers aboard each warship turned to look their way, their eyes filled with reverence.

Soon, the two arrived at the center of the Black Domain, where the secret passage was located.