The Bright King Cave Heaven cultivator was a dry oil lamp who didn’t even have the strength to fight back at this point. Be that as it may, thanks to how he normally focused on cultivating his physical body, his physique was incredibly intrepid all on its own. It was not easy for an opponent who was equally exhausted to kill him.
Such a situation had never been seen before.
Meanwhile, Yang Kai was feeling extremely uneasy as he dragged the Bright King Heaven cultivator towards Nu Yan. He didn’t know whether the plan he had made up on the spot could be realised; even so, he had to try. This matter involved a life after all.
Inside the Sealed World, Meng Qi once told him that there was no need for him to show mercy to his opponents if he encountered another Black Ink Disciple in the future. On the contrary, he should kill them if he could as that would in and of itself be a blessing for them.
Yang Kai never imagined that the time to make such a choice would appear so quickly before him; however, he could not bring himself to ruthlessly slaughter the Black Ink Disciple from Bright King Cave Heaven in front of him. He had the means to solve the root issue after all. There might be an opportunity for him to rescue this Black Ink Disciple and restore his original nature; which was why he tried every means possible to defeat his opponent without killing him.
Staggering over to Nu Yan, Yang Kai cupped his fist, “Master, fortunately I did not fail my mission!”
Nu Yan smiled and nodded, “Very good! I knew I was right about you.”
The truth was that he had made up his mind to abandon Yang Kai when he sent him into the battlefield earlier. Looking back on his decision now, it would seem like he had great foresight instead.
Nu Yan lowered his head and glanced at the Bright King Cave Heaven cultivator whom Yang Kai had dragged over to him. A greedy look flashed across his eyes as he stretched out his hand, “Hand him to me.”
Yang Kai had no choice but to obey.
Nu Yan reached out and grabbed the Bright King Cave Heaven cultivator, his large palm holding him upright as his Black Ink Strength surged and wrapped around the latter.
Upon seeing this, Yang Kai secretly breathed a sigh of relief. Nu Yan’s actions had not disappointed him. This situation was exactly what he had been hoping for.
On the other hand, the expression of Lang Ya, who had been gnashing his teeth and watching from nearby, immediately fell at this sight and he shouted grimly, “Nu Yan, what are you doing!?”
He originally thought that Nu Yan would simply enjoy the spoils of war. The World Force of a Sixth-Order Open Heaven Realm Master was an extremely nutritious supplement to a High-Rank Black Ink Clansman after all. Nu Yan’s strength would surely increase sharply after devouring the World Force of the Bright King Cave Heaven cultivator.
How could he have anticipated that Nu Yan had no such plans at all? Contrary to expectations, Nu Yan used his own Black Ink Strength to corrode the Bright King Cave Heaven cultivator; in this way, wouldn’t the Bright King Heaven cultivator become Nu Yan’s Black Ink Disciple instead?
How could Lang Ya accept this situation? A living Black Ink Disciple and a dead Black Ink Disciple had very different values.
He had agreed on a deathmatch with Nu Yan, so now that the outcome of the battle had been decided, Lang Ya had mentally prepared himself for his Black Ink Disciple to be killed. If Nu Yan had killed the Bright King Cave Heaven cultivator, then he would have nothing to say; however, Nu Yan’s current actions were unacceptable to him. Doing this would greatly increase the overall strength of Nu Yan’s subordinates. Conversely, Lang Ya would lose a powerful subordinate. Thanks to this shift in numbers, the gap between his strength and Nu Yan’s strength would become very large.
“Do you have an objection?” Nu Yan glanced sideways at Lang Ya.
Lang Ya roared angrily, “You and I agreed to a deathmatch! The battle must end with death to determine the winner! What do you mean by stealing my Black Ink Disciple now!?”
If it were a life bout where they ownership of the losing Black Ink Disciple was the wager, then Nu Yan’s actions would be beyond reproach; however, it was different for a deathmatch.
Nu Yan sneered, “What do you mean by stealing? The outcome of the battle has been decided and these are spoils of war. If I want him alive, he will live. If I want him dead, he will die. His life is mine now. It has nothing to do with you.”
Lang Ya insisted on the rules and refused to back down, “A deathmatch is a deathmatch! Between these two Black Ink Disciples, only one may survive. You may choose which one!”
Nu Yan shook his head slowly, “Nobody ever said that only one person can survive in a deathmatch.”
It was true that nobody had ever specified such a thing, it was just that every deathmatch had ended with the same result, mainly because the Black Ink Disciples who fought in each battle were not very different in strength. There had never been a situation in which a Black Ink Disciple with a higher Order had utterly suppressed a Black Ink Disciple with a lower Order before.
Seeing as the Black Ink Disciples could not afford to hold back once the fight started, it was only natural that one side would eventually be defeated and killed. In this way, everybody had simply taken this rule as a given.
A situation like this, where Yang Kai had captured his opponent alive and returned to his Master, was unprecedented; hence, there was room for interpretation.
Lang Ya did not waste his time arguing with Nu Yan though. Raising his arms, he shouted to the audience, “Let’s ask our clansmen! What are the rules of a deathmatch!?”
“Kill! Kill! Kill!”
Deafening cheers rang out from the surrounding audience. The Black Ink Clan did not care about who would benefit from this situation, they simply wanted to see blood and death.
Lang Ya gave Nu Yan a defiant look with a smug expression on his face.
Nu Yan’s expression became solemn. He really liked this Bright King Cave Heaven cultivator, so it would be great if he could take him under his command. However, his gains would not be worth the losses if he incurred the wrath of his clansmen here.
While Nu Yan was hesitating, Yang Kai suddenly cupped his fist, “Master, why don’t you let me fight him again? I can slowly, slowly torture him to death!”
Nu Yan frowned and asked, “Slowly torture him to death?”
What would the point of that be?
Yang Kai quickly followed up, “What do you think of a hundred years?”
Only then did Nu Yan understand and grinned to himself. Who would be willing to watch this fight drag on for 100 years? Even Lang Ya may not have such patience. Once Lang Ya was gone, the Bright King Cave Heaven cultivator would naturally become his Black Ink Disciple. It wasn’t a bad solution.
“You court death!” Lang Ya turned and glared at Yang Kai.
Yang Kai lowered his head, “If Master wants me dead, I will die!”
The implication behind his words were naturally ‘you are not qualified to order me around’.
D-4’s eyes widened when he heard those words. It was only at this moment that he realised how bold E-5 was, [I can’t believe he dared to speak to a Black Ink Clansman in such an aggressive manner!? Does he not know how to write the word ‘death’!?]
“Impudence!” Nu Yan rebuked, but the tone of his voice held no sense of reproach whatsoever.
Yang Kai bowed his head in deference.
Nu Yan then turned to look at Lang Ya, “I’m sure you’re not willing to spend 100 years watching a boring fight, right? If you’re really that leisurely, then I can allow the two Black Ink Disciples to continue their match.”
In any case, cultivator from Bright King Cave Heaven had already been imbued with his Black Ink Strength and could already be considered his Black Ink Disciple. As long as Nu Yan gave the order, it was really possible for the two Black Ink Disciples to fight for another 100 years.
Lang Ya’s expression was frigid, but he remained silent.
“Let’s do this. Why don’t we just invite the three Feudal Lords to adjudicate this matter? We can ask them for their opinions and decide based on the majority. Whatever the Feudal Lords decide, we will obey their decision,” Nu Yan suggested.
The reason Nu Yan made such a suggestion was that he would not suffer any losses, regardless of the outcome. If the Bright King Cave Heaven cultivator was allowed to live, then he would obtain an additional powerful servant. If the Bright King Cave Heaven cultivator was condemned to die, then he could take the opportunity to devour his World Force and increase his own strength.
On the contrary, no matter how the situation turned out, Lang Ya would not benefit in any way.
More importantly, Nu Yan did not have 100 years to waste either.
Seeing as Nu Yan had already made such a suggestion, how could Lang Ya refuse? He immediately nodded in agreement, “Good!”