As the first rising star to advance to the Ninth Order, Shi Dazhuang's breakthrough had served as an omen—a sign that the Human Race had finally emerged from its desperate period of attrition, and that more Ninth Orders would surely be born in the days to come.
But ever since Shi Dazhuang and Tang Tao had advanced to the Ninth Order, no new Ninth Order had appeared among the Human Race.
Until this moment—after the second Ink Giant Spirit had fallen, the Human Race had reclaimed No Return Pass, and secured the ultimate victory in this war—that Eighth Order named Zheng Wuyou finally showed signs of breaking through!
"Long-suppressed emotions finally released, his state of mind surging and stirring his qi, combined with sufficient accumulated foundation—breaking through the barrier becomes a natural matter." Mi Jinglun gazed in that direction and spoke softly.
Yang Kai mused thoughtfully, "If that's the case, there may be more than one person advancing this time!"
Just calculating by time alone, among the rising stars qualified to advance to the Ninth Order, many had already accumulated to their limits. But breaking through was never that simple—it often depended on the right catalyst. Perhaps a moment of sudden enlightenment, perhaps an unexpected event, perhaps a chance encounter during a journey far from home...
Among these various catalysts, any would inevitably stir one's state of mind, which in turn would trigger the aura of breakthrough.
Because of this great Human Race victory, Zheng Wuyou had touched upon the opportunity to break through.
If he could do so, then the other well-prepared prodigies might well do the same.
That was why Yang Kai had made this deduction.
As if to verify his conjecture, the moment he finished speaking, a similar fluctuation of aura came from yet another direction.
A second Eighth Order of the Human Race had sensed the opportunity to break through!
Luo Tinghe turned her head toward that direction and said with delight, "It's someone from the Scarlet Fire Army—I'll go!"
Advancing from the Eighth Order to the Ninth Order was a critical threshold. Once crossed, one would stand at the pinnacle of the martial path and survey all beings below. But crossing this threshold was no easy matter. At times like these, guidance from those who had gone before was invaluable. That was why, when Zheng Wuyou's aura had begun to fluctuate, Ouyang Lie had rushed over immediately.
As the Commander of the Xuanming Army, this was his duty.
But the Scarlet Fire Army had never had a Ninth Order to oversee them, so Luo Tinghe had volunteered to take on the role.
And it wasn't over yet. Within the next quarter of an hour, strange disturbances continued to ripple through the various armies of the Human Race—all signs of Eighth Orders on the verge of breaking through.
This final battle against the Ink Clan at No Return Pass was like a potent medicine. The great Human Race victory had brought these rising stars their opportunity for breakthrough.
Yang Kai and the other eight Ninth Orders moved back and forth among them, each responsible for several Eighth Orders, sharing their experience of breaking through and advising them on what to pay attention to.
Naturally, all of them committed every word to memory. This was arguably the most important moment of their lives, and none could afford to be careless.
During the great battle, they had all expended considerable energy, but fortunately, every one of them had made thorough preparations for this very moment. With just a brief period of recovery, they could dedicate themselves fully to the breakthrough.
Shortly after, atop Pure Yang Pass, the Ninth Orders gathered once more, gazing out across the void in every direction. Their expressions were solemn. In each direction, every Eighth Order on the verge of breaking through had claimed their own isolated space—ensuring they wouldn't interfere with one another, nor be interfered with.
Everything was in place. Whether they could successfully advance to the Ninth Order depended entirely on their own fortune.
Breaking through to the Ninth Order was no easy feat. Throughout the ages, many Human Race predecessors had been stopped at this very barrier. The fact that even at the peak of Human Race power there had been only a little over a hundred Ninth Orders spoke volumes—over the hundreds of thousands to millions of years, far more than that number of qualified individuals had surely been born among the Human Race.
Not everyone qualified to advance to the Ninth Order could succeed.
But compared to their predecessors, the current generation of rising stars possessed an advantage their forebears had never enjoyed—the nourishment of the Child Trees. That miraculous nourishing power had refined their aptitudes to an extraordinary degree and made their Small Universes far more stable, so the risks of breaking through were often somewhat reduced.
In recent years, when Human Race Eighth Orders had broken through to the Ninth Order, not a single one had perished in the attempt. Setting aside Xiang Shan and Ouyang Lie, who had relied on the Heaven Opening Pills of the highest grade, even Wei Junyang and Luo Tinghe had advanced on their own. Shi Dazhuang and Tang Tao's breakthroughs had gone particularly smoothly as well.
"Twenty-three!" Even though he was utterly exhausted, Mi Jinglun's face was flushed with excitement, his eyes brimming with elation. "Truly, the Heavens favor our Human Race!"
That the Human Race had been able to take No Return Pass, drive the Ink Clan to total annihilation, and even slay two Ink Giant Spirits in this battle was already the finest tribute to the soldiers who had fallen over the past several thousand years. No one had imagined that, after this battle, a full twenty-three Eighth Orders would be on the verge of breaking through.
With this, the Human Race's strength would increase dramatically, and it would be of tremendous benefit to the upcoming expedition.
The Human Race's overall power was not particularly weak at present—the only deficiency was in the number of Ninth Orders. But now it seemed this disadvantage might well be compensated.
Of the Human Race's twelve great armies, four had always lacked a Ninth Order to anchor them. Though more Sacred Spirits had been assigned to make up for the shortfall, the absence of a Ninth Order had remained a persistent drawback.
But now, once these Eighth Orders had advanced, every single army would have at least three Ninth Orders to oversee them.
The strength of the Human Race's armies would experience an explosive surge.