Editor and Proofreader: Leo of Zion Mountain & Dhael Ligerkeys
The problem with giving up a part of oneâs Small Universe wasnât just about incompleteness, but also about a drop in strength.
If Yang Kai had done such a thing not long after he ascended to the Seventh-Order Open Heaven Realm, his cultivation would have regressed to the Sixth-Order.
However, he had previously consumed a High-Rank World Fruit and refined several sets of Seventh-Order materials over the past two years. He had accumulated quite a bit of heritage in the Seventh-Order Open Heaven Realm, so there was no risk of him falling to the Sixth-Order.
It was apparent to him now that there were two reasons those from Blue Sky Pass rewarded him with a High-Rank World Fruit. First of all, he had indeed made many contributions, but secondly, they had to get him prepared for this moment.
They had surely taken this exact situation into consideration, which was why it wasnât until two years later that they asked him to give up the World Spring.
What caught Yang Kaiâs attention wasnât the damage to his Small Universe though, but the anomaly happening around the World Treeâs clone.
At this moment, a humming sound was heard coming from the World Treeâs clone as a faintly discernible power exuded from it and streamed towards the damaged part of his Small Universe.
Yang Kai wasnât in control of this process and he had no idea what was going on, but the instant the abstruse power exuded from the clone, his pain was significantly soothed, as though he had just come across a spring amidst the summer heat.
Besides that, he had a feeling that the anomaly happening to the clone would be beneficial to him.
With that said, it was just a feeling, so he couldnât make a judgement yet. He didnât immediately consume the Profound Yin Spirit Fruit, but to make sure that Zhong Liang wouldnât be worried, he said, âPlease rest assured, Sir. Iâm fine.â
As he spoke, he got to his feet, âIâll take my leave now. It may take some time for my Small Universe to heal.â
Certainly, Zhong Liang wouldnât stop him, so he nodded and replied, âGood. You have to promptly consume that Profound Yin Spirit Fruit after you go back.â
âYes.â Yang Kai nodded with a solemn expression. After saluting him, he returned to the Inner Sanctum and headed to his place.
Hovering in the void, Zhong Liang watched Yang Kai leave, then turned to look at Ding Yao.
Presently, the World Force around Ding Yao undulated and gusted out from his body, assimilating into the void from time to time.
Just like how Yang Kai had to refine the World Treeâs clone, he currently had to refine the World Spring as well. In order to do that, he had to get rid of the impurities that belonged to Yang Kai. After all, he had swallowed a part of the younger manâs Small Universe.
This territory contained a part of Yang Kaiâs heritage, but instead of being beneficial to Ding Yao, it was harmful to him.
However, he was much stronger than Yang Kai, and the territory that had been cut off wasnât big, so there werenât a lot of impurities to begin with.
After just a few days, Ding Yao was done with refining the World Spring. When he opened his eyes, it was apparent that his aura had become more robust.
Upon seeing that, Zhong Liang said, âCongratulations, Brother Ding. Since you have the World Spring now, youâll stand a chance to reach even greater heights.â
To Eighth-Order Open Heaven Realm Masters like them, the highest Order was undoubtedly the Ninth-Order.
There were dozens of Eighth-Order Open Heaven Realm Masters in Blue Sky Pass, but the reason they decided to let Ding Yao take over the World Spring wasnât solely because he was the strongest amongst them. The main reason was that in the past he directly ascended to the Seventh-Order, so the Eighth-Order wasnât his limit. In his lifetime, he could aim to become a Ninth-Order Old Ancestor.
In comparison, even though Zhong Liang and the others were strong as well, they had exhausted their potential. The Eighth-Order was the best they could achieve in their lifetimes.
It had been thousands of years since Ding Yao ascended to the Eighth-Order, but even though he had accumulated a lot of heritage in his current Order, he was still pretty far from the Ninth-Order.
Since he had a World Spring now though, there was no doubt that it would take him a shorter time to make it to the Ninth-Order.
Ding Yao said, âWe all know that it will still take me quite some time to reach the highest Order. On the other hand, since Iâve taken over the World Spring now, Iâd better give something back to that Brat.â
In an instant, Zhong Liang had a bad premonition, âWhat are you going to do?â
Ding Yao grinned, âSince he has given me the World Spring, Iâll get him a gift.â
Then, he turned into a ray of golden light and disappeared into the distance.
A myriad of expressions came over Zhong Liang as he stayed rooted to the spot. Soon though, he couldnât help but stomp his foot and snarl, âThat reckless fool!â
Despite that, he didnât intend to chase after him for he knew it was pointless to do so. Since Ding Yao had made a decision, he wouldnât change his mind. Furthermore, given his strength, he most likely wouldnât fall into any danger.
In his room, Yang Kai was seated with his legs crossed. As he refined Seventh-Order materials to cultivate, he examined the transformation going on in his Small Universe.
He didnât consume the Profound Yin Spirit Fruit because he wanted to find out how the cloneâs anomaly would influence him.
If he consumed the Profound Yin Spirit Fruit to repair his Small Universe, the cloneâs anomaly would probably disappear.
As time passed, the changes in his Small Universe became increasingly conspicuous. The originally damaged part of his Small Universe started repairing itself.
This revelation astounded Yang Kai.
It wasnât until this moment that he realised the outcome that the cloneâs anomaly had produced.
This clone was able to repair damage to his Small Universe! In other words, even though he never consumed the Profound Yin Spirit Fruit, there still wouldnât be any problems.
He couldnât believe that the World Tree clone was able to do even that.
Including the fact that the clone was able to help increase his cultivation speed, he had discovered 5 benefits that the tree had given him.
After giving it a thought, he realised that the tree wasnât named the World Tree for no reason. Even though he had only refined a clone, it was still a World Tree. A Small Universe was also a Universe World, and with the cloneâs presence, it was expected that any non-fatal damage would eventually heal itself. Back then, after he planted a World Tree clone in the Star Boundary, the tree was even able to stabilise the collapsing Universe World.
Furthermore, the speed of self-repair was just as good as what consuming a Profound Yin Spirit Fruit would achieve.
However, this benefit wasnât really useful to Yang Kai; after all, he wouldnât be corrupted by Black Ink Strength, so he wouldnât have to give up parts of his Small Universe to save himself. In any case, it was wonderful that he didnât have to consume the Profound Yin Spirit Fruit as this thing had always been in demand in the Inner Sanctum.
He could return the fruit to Zhong Liang at a later time so that it could be placed in the War Materials Hall for someone else to use.
A few months later, a ray of light descended from the sky and landed in the courtyard.
Upon detecting the movement, Feng Ying hurriedly came over. The instant she saw the person, she saluted him, âGreetings, Sir.â
The person was none other than Ding Yao. It wasnât certain what he had done recently, but he was now engulfed in murderous intent. Feng Ying could also see that he was injured.
With his hands behind his back, Ding Yao nodded and looked around, âWhereâs Yang Boy?â
Feng Ying hurriedly replied, âHeâs still cultivating in seclusion now. Please give me a moment, Sir. Iâll tell him to come out now.â
Ding Yao waved his hand, âSince heâs cultivating in seclusion, thereâs no need to disturb him. Iâll wait for him to come out.â
Upon hearing that, Feng Ying said, âJunior Brother Yang will stop cultivating in seclusion every half a year. I suppose heâll come out of his room in a few days. Iâll tell him to see you when he emerges.â
However, Ding Yao just adjusted his clothes and took a seat in the corridor, âThereâs no rush. This King will wait for him here.â
Feng Ying was astounded as she wondered why Ding Yao insisted on waiting for Yang Kai here. She didnât think Yang Kai had made any mistakes recently, so why did the Eastern Army Commander come all the way here?
While she was lost in her thoughts, she saw another person descending from the sky. It was none other than Zhong Liang.
She quickly saluted him and shot him an inquisitive look.
Zhong Liang waved his hand as he walked up to Ding Yao and sized him up. He tutted and asked, âWhatâs the point of doing this? Doesnât it hurt?â
Ding Yao replied impassively, âInjuries are inevitable, but it was worth it. I had to let those guys know the consequences of invading Blue Sky Pass. Regardless of whether Iâm in a good or bad mood, I can just go over and make a fuss so that theyâll have a taste of getting their home invaded.â He grinned.
The corners of Zhong Liangâs mouth twitched. He had already expected that Ding Yao would become more active after taking over the World Spring, and his speculation was right.
To the side, Feng Ying appeared puzzled as she had no idea what these Army Commanders were talking about. Nevertheless, judging from Ding Yaoâs words, she reckoned that he had fought against the Black Ink Clan somewhere.
Now, the Black Ink Clan were hiding deep in their own territory. In other words, Ding Yao had launched an attack on the Black Ink Clanâs base. This notion shocked her. With that said, the Humans had invaded the Black Ink Clanâs territory before. With the Old Ancestor leading the way, those from Blue Sky Pass had previously done such a thing more than once. This always resulted in the Black Ink Clanâs Armies counterattacking resulting in a full scale war.
However, every time they invaded the Black Ink Clanâs base, the Old Ancestor would take the lead to ensure the safety of most people. Even though Ding Yao was an Eighth-Order Master, it was risky for him to barge into the Black Ink Clanâs hinterland without anyone else supporting him.
Even though Feng Ying had no idea why Ding Yao had done such a thing, she wasnât in any position to ask about it.
Zhong Liang turned to look at her, âWhy are you just standing there? Donât you see that your Martial Uncle Ding sitting here? Get him some tea.â
Feng Ying quickly responded and fished out a tea set. Considering the fact that Ding Yao was injured, she even took out her treasured Spirit Tea to help him recuperate.
After drinking the tea, Ding Yao couldnât stop praising her.
When Yang Kai left his room a few days later, he instantly saw this awkward sight.
In the corridor of the courtyard, Ding Yao and Zhong Liang were seated across from each other with a table in the middle of them, sipping tea that Feng Ying was quietly preparing for them.
Yang Kai was dumbfounded as he thought that he was seeing things.
Zhong Liang beckoned to him, âCome here and have some tea. Youâre in luck because your Senior Sister Feng has fished out some of the Peak-Rank spirit tea that she has always treasured.â
The atmosphere was somewhat awkward. After he was seated, Feng Ying poured him a cup of tea. While sipping the tea, he signalled at Feng Ying with his eyes to ask her what was going on.
Upon seeing that Feng Ying ignored him, leaving him flustered.
He couldnât really tell what the spirit tea tasted like, but it was indeed beneficial to cultivators. He felt refreshed after drinking a few cups of it.
Ding Yao finally put down the tea cup and struck his own chest. The next instant, he turned his head and spat out a mouthful of clotted blood. Like a blood arrow, the clotted blood formed a hole on the ground.
After that, Ding Yao became evidently energised and he nodded at Feng Ying, âMany thanks, Martial Niece.â
Ding Yao then turned to Yang Kai and tossed a Space Ring at him, âFor you.â
A doubtful Yang Kai took it and infused his Divine Sense into it. The next moment, his expression changed drastically as he muttered, âWhy are there so manyâŚâ