Tang Qiu let out a light sigh as he spoke with mixed emotions, “We don’t know how many of us will survive this battle. Yang Boy, this campaign to recover our lost territory will be more dangerous than any battle you’ve faced before. You must remember not to act impulsively and put your safety first out of all things.”
“Yes, Sir!” Yang Kai nodded respectfully.
After Tang Qiu’s explanation, Yang Kai now had a deeper understanding of the situation now and the situation he would be facing later. On the other hand, these weren’t exactly secrets, so he guessed the others might find out from all sorts of sources in short order.
Back at the square, the atmosphere was becoming increasingly lively as cultivators from different Great Passes arrived one after another, and early birds, like Yang Kai, were socialising with the others.
Many Fellow Brothers and Sisters came from the same Cave Heaven or Paradise but were allocated to different Great Passes after arriving at the Black Ink Battlefield. Once they separated, it would be hundreds to thousands of years, or even longer, before they could meet again. They might never even see each other again until they met in the afterlife.
The battle for Great Evolution Pass had called for all Great Passes to deploy troops and gather in Wind and Cloud and Azure Void Pass, which provided those cultivators from the same Sects a chance to reunite.
Though everyone came here from different Great Passes, they only had one goal, which was to recover Great Evolution Pass.
All the Open Heaven Realm Masters had thrown the thought of life and death out of their heads. Also, there wasn’t much sadness in the air. Instead, they all felt proud and delighted to be reunited with their friends.
Everyone couldn’t stop talking about how their own Great Pass defended themselves against the Black Ink Clan. Among all the cultivators present, the cultivators from Blue Sky Pass undoubtedly became the centre of attention. That couldn’t be helped as Blue Sky Pass was the only one that successfully launched and completed a crusade. Not only did they manage to secure a forward base in the Black Ink Clan’s territory, they also managed to snatch a large piece of territory from them. It had been over 200 years since then, yet the Black Ink Clan still didn’t dare to cross the new border.
At the temporary camp of the 500 soldiers from Yin-Yang Pass, Yang Kai chatted with Qing Kui and Su Ying Xue for a while longer before excusing himself and walking towards a quiet place where he stopped before a cultivator who was adjusting his breathing while sitting cross-legged on the ground.
That person looked up at Yang Kai and showed him an ugly expression.
With a slight chuckle, Yang Kai said, “Brother Blood Crow, we’ve crossed so much land to meet each other again. Can’t you be at least a little happy to see an old friend?”
That was right. Blood Crow was also included among the 500 people deployed by Yin-Yang Pass. Though Yang Kai noticed him long ago, he had to speak to Tang Qiu, so he didn’t have time to greet the former.
Meanwhile, Blood Crow looked as if he didn’t want anything to do with Yang Kai and snarled, “There’s bound to be trouble wherever you are, so you’d better stay away from me.”
Having arrived at the Black Ink Battlefield for quite a while, Blood Crow had accepted his fate, but he couldn’t help but think, [If this brat hadn’t got in the way, I wouldn’t have ended up in this situation. Maybe I would have still been cultivating peacefully inside Blood Monster Cave Heaven, gathering more strength and restoring my cultivation to when I was an Eighth-Order Divine Monarch.]
Yang Kai chuckled, “Brother Blood Crow, why are you still holding on to the past? Now that we’re both here on the Black Ink Battlefield, we’ll have to fight side by side, so we should watch out for each other.”
However, Blood Crow just snapped, “Never. When we get on the battlefield, remember to tell me in advance where you will be. That way, I can stay as far as I can.”
At that moment, Xu Ling Gong approached them, “Enemies should be solved rather than settled. Blood Crow, the way you acted before was too merciless, and Yang Kai only did what he had to to be safe. Why do you have to hold onto past grudges?”
Xu Ling Gong also heard about what happened back at the Blood Monster Cave Heaven, which was why he could understand what was going on after listening to Yang Kai and Blood Crow’s conversation.
“Come on, have you heard of the saying, ‘a smile dissolves hatred, while wine dissolves all resentment’? After you finish these bottles, you’ll let bygones be bygones!” While saying so, Xu Ling Gong took out two bottles of wine and tossed them to Yang Kai and Blood Crow respectfully.
Blood Crow received it but still kept quiet.
Then, Xu Ling Gong slapped Blood Crow’s shoulder with so much force that his figure shrank a little. Following that, Xu Ling Gong ordered, “Drink! If you don’t, I’ll take it as you having no respect for me.”
Feeling his lips twitching, Blood Crow complained in secret that if he still had his Eight-Order cultivation, a mere Seventh-Order Junior wouldn’t have had the guts to act so arrogantly before him. But with his current situation, he could only suppress his anger and abide by Xu Ling Gong’s words.
After opening the bottle, he raised his head and gulped down the wine.
Yang Kai smiled and drank his wine as well.
In the meantime, Xu Ling Gong laughed heartily, “Very good. That’s how you should solve grudges.”
Wind and Cloud Pass only had one Hyper Space Array, but had to receive troops sent from more than 50 Great Passes, so it naturally took quite a long time. Moreover, running the Hyper Space Array continuously was troublesome, so that process was incredibly time-consuming.
Under that premise, the Hyper Space Array could only be used once daily. In other words, only one Great Pass could send their troops here each day.
The 500 people from Blue Sky Pass didn’t arrive too early, and they weren’t late either, as half of the 50 Great Passes were still waiting to send their troops over.
On the other hand, the Black Ink Clan was still restlessly attacking. There were times when they could feel the strong energy blasts that would pass through the multiple Spirit Array barriers and into the square.
It was tough for those cultivators gathered in the square as they knew large groups of Black Ink Clansmen were attacking outside, yet they couldn’t go out to kill the enemy. Those cultivators from the other Great Passes had to stay put before all the others had arrived, and Great Evolution’s Eastern and Western Armies had been officially been formed.
This agony continued for 20 more days.
When the last troops from the other Great Passes arrived at Wind and Cloud pass, there were already 15,000 cultivators gathered in the square, including over 200 Eighth-Order Open Heaven Realm Masters.
It was an unprecedented lineup. Though the number of cultivators gathered here did not outnumber any of the Great Passes, the number of Eighth-Order Open Heaven Realm Masters far outnumbered all of them.
All those Eighth-Order Open Heaven Realm Masters were here basically because they were tasked to send soldiers from their Great Passes over and had to stay in Wind and Cloud Pass temporarily because the Hyper Space Array here couldn’t send them back for the moment.
At the same time, their presence was also to lay the groundwork for the upcoming battle.
Following the orders from the Eighth-Order Open Heaven Realm Masters from all Great Passes, those cultivators who were chatting with old friends immediately returned to their assigned spots, and the previously lively square immediately fell silent.
A short while later, a large group of cultivators entered the square from all directions. The incoming troop had about 15,000 cultivators and was on par with those already in the square.
After that, the square now had 30,000 soldiers!
Seeing the situation, Yang Kai knew that if the previous 15,000 soldiers gathered in the square were from the other Great Passes, the 15,000 who had just arrived were soldiers that belonged to Wind and Cloud Pass.
Their actions did seem more orderly. Though Yang Kai didn’t mean to offend anyone, that group of soldiers were from the same Great Pass and had a tacit understanding, but Yang Kai and the others came from different Great Passes, so both troops were incomparable in terms of coordination.
The scene of 30,000 soldiers gathering in one place was spectacular.
At that moment, another two figures dashed over from a distance and stopped right in the middle of the square. It was a man and a woman, and they were both Eighth-Order Open Heaven Realm Masters.
The man was Xiang Shan from Blue Sky Pass, while the woman was Liu Zhi Ping from Yin-Yang Pass.
Xiang Shan had a dignified air to him, while Liu Zhi Ping cut a heroic figure. Though there were many Eighth-Order Open Heaven Realm Masters present, these two both had strong and oppressive temperaments that allowed them to attract everyone’s attention whenever they appeared.
Looking around the square, Xiang Shan announced, “Today, there are soldiers gathered here from more than 50 Great Passes with only one goal, to take back Great Evolution Pass. We also have many soldiers from Wind and Cloud Pass joining us, and so, with the recommendations from each Great Pass, and the approval from all Old Ancestors, we will now form Great Evolution’s Eastern and Western Armies. All soldiers, hear my command!”
“I declare Xiang Shan the Army Commander of Great Evolution’s Eastern Army!”
“I declare Liu Zhi Ping the Army Commander of Great Evolution’s Western Army!”
“Yes, sir!” All the soldiers in the square responded in unison.
Then, Xiang Shan continued, “Yan Jia? Step forward and receive your orders!”