Chapter 5367, The Collapse
Translator: Silavin & Jon

Translation Checker: PewPewLazerGun

Editor and Proofreader: Leo of Zion Mountain & Dhael Ligerkeys

As a veteran Territory Lord, Che Kong had good judgement in the face of a crisis, and he had made the right choice.

It was also the outcome that Yang Kai wanted to see though. This Territory Lord had been guarding the High-Rank Black Ink Nest doggedly, a problem to which Yang Kai didn’t have a good solution. Now, the chance presented itself as Che Kong had pounced at him.

In truth, regardless of what choice that Che Kong had made, it wouldn’t affect Yang Kai one bit.

If this Territory Lord never stayed away from the High-Rank Black Ink Nest, Yang Kai could just go around the Royal City and destroy the Mid-Rank Black Ink Nests. As long as he could smash enough of them, the Eighth-Order Division Commanders would be able to gain a decisive advantage.

Although there was a huge gap between their strengths, Che Kong wouldn’t be able to stop Yang Kai if the latter transformed into an Ancient Dragon and raised chaos in the Royal City.

Now that Che Kong had decided to temporarily abandon the High-Rank Black Ink Nest and chase after his opponent though, Yang Kai felt that it was the best chance for him to deal a fatal blow to the High-Rank Black Ink Nest.

There was an unbreakable bond between Black Ink Nests. Higher-rank Black Ink Nests were the source of the lower-rank Black Ink Nests.

For example, a Mid-Rank Black Ink Nest could breed dozens to over 100 Low-Rank sub-nests. Even if all of these sub-nests were destroyed though, the Mid-Rank Black Ink Nest wouldn’t be affected.

However, if the Mid-Rank Black Ink Nest was destroyed, all the Low-Rank Black Ink Nests would wither as well.

The sub-nests could not untether themselves from the higher-rank Black Ink Nest they were bred from and survive on their own. The Humans had repeatedly verified this fact.

Although Yang Kai had been kicking up a storm in the Royal City for quite a while, he had only managed to destroy half of the Mid-Rank Black Ink Nests. In other words, there were still half of them that remained standing and it would take him some effort to destroy all of them.

However, if he could directly destroy the High-Rank Black Ink Nest, all the Mid-Rank Black Ink Nests would fall with it. Only by destroying the High-Rank Black Ink Nest could he deal a fatal blow to the Black Ink Clan once and for all.

Therefore, the moment he saw Che Kong charging towards him, Yang Kai took the initiative to approach him instead of backing down.

Seeing that, Che Kong was enraged. He extended his hands into the void and summoned out a spear. As he surged his Black Ink Strength, he pushed the weapon towards Yang Kai.

This artifact was apparently made for him by one of the Artifact Refiners who had become a Black Ink Disciple. Although it wasn’t a very high-grade artifact, Che Kong was the one using it after all. Even Xiang Shan wouldn’t be able to ignore an attack cast by a top Territory Lord like Che Kong.

However, an unfazed Yang Kai continued flying forward, as though he didn’t see the attack coming. While mid-flight, he roared and turned into a 70,000-metre Ancient Dragon again.

He had no choice but to assume his Dragon Form. Despite being the strongest Seventh-Order Open Heaven Realm Master among all the Humans, Yang Kai was still no match for his opponent. Only by turning into an Ancient Dragon could he deal with a Territory Lord.

He stared fixedly at Che Kong with eyes as bright as two Great Suns. The next instant, the authoritative-looking eyes reflected Che Kong’s figure and the reflection contorted all of a sudden.

Che Kong, who was shooting towards Yang Kai, felt a mysterious force flooding through him, causing him to become sluggish. Still, he was a powerful Territory Lord and with a surge of his power, he easily shook of the influence of Yang Kai’s Eye Secret Technique.

After the Eye Secret Technique was broken through, Golden Dragon Blood started streaming from Yang Kai’s eyes. Nevertheless, that brief moment of sluggishness was all Yang Kai needed.

Space trembled as Yang Kai roared. At this moment, he seemed to be enduring some unbearable pain as his Dragon Roar sounded heart-wrenching and could make anyone weep for him. At the same time as the Dragon Roar sounded, Yang Kai’s aura plunged tremendously.

However, instead of becoming excited, Che Kong was shocked for he had a bad premonition all of a sudden.

Before he could figure out the reason behind this ominous feeling, he felt a sharp pain in his head. It was as though an invisible force had penetrated his defence and torn into his Soul, disorienting him greatly.

At that instant, his mind turned blank as he couldn’t think straight. Still, he thrust out the spear in his hands instinctually.

A Dragon Roar sounded again, but this time it was because Yang Kai’s belly had been wounded by Che Kong’s spear, which resulted in his Dragon Blood gushing out. Despite having robust Dragon Scales all over his body, they couldn’t stop Che Kong attack.

Certainly, it also had something to do with the fact that Yang Kai’s mind was in a mess. Just now, he had sacrificed a large piece of his Soul to power his last Soul Rending Thorn.

Back then, after Old Ancestor Xiao Xiao taught him how to refine and use the Soul Rending Thorns, Yang Kai had looked for Grandmaster Ma Fan to create some for him.

Even with Grandmaster Ma Fan’s mastery in Artifact Refining, it still took him a year to 12 Soul Rending Thorns.

After that, Yang Kai entered the Black Ink Nest Space with his Soul and dealt with the Territory Lords and Eighth-Order Black Ink Disciples lying in ambush there. All in all, he had used 11 Soul Rending Thorns to injure or kill that number of Territory Lords and Eighth-Order Black Ink Disciples.

It was only then that the Humans managed to completely take over the Mid-Rank Black Ink Nest near Great Evolution Pass.

Yang Kai had kept the last Soul Rending Thorn on him since then, and he finally found a chance to use it now.

Soul Rending Thorns were extremely powerful artifacts that specifically targeted the Soul, and coupled with the special method to use them, Yang Kai managed to single-handedly destroy several formidable enemies inside the Black Ink Nest Space. The Masters who had been wounded by his Soul Rending Thorns all ended up in a horrible state.

Old Ancestor Xiao Xiao had said that it was an artifact and Secret Technique that seemed to have been specially invented for Yang Kai.

Every time Yang Kai used this artifact, he had to sacrifice a part of his Soul to power it. Even the strongest cultivators, including the Old Ancestors, couldn’t repeatedly discard pieces of their Soul.

Perhaps they could do it one or two times, but if they did it frequently, even the Old Ancestors wouldn’t be capable of bearing the consequences. Once their Soul was too badly damaged, their consciousness would become muddled or even worse, collapse. By then, they would be no different from a living corpse.

However, Yang Kai was different. With the nourishment and protection of the Soul Warming Lotus, his Soul would always recover as long as it wasn’t instantly destroyed.

Despite that, he could only use the Soul Rending Thorn once in this situation.

This place was different from the Black Ink Nest Space where he could summon his Soul Warming Lotus and hide inside it after using several Soul Rending Thorns. The Soul Warming Lotus was the strongest shield when it came to Spiritual Energy, but this place was a chaotic battlefield and Yang Kai was surrounded by enemies, so what did it matter if his Soul survived while his body was destroyed?

Furthermore, the feeling of getting one’s Soul torn apart was simply unbearable. Even someone like Yang Kai would become paralysed on the battlefield if he had to go through this multiple times in short order.

As the user of the Soul Rending Thorn, Yang Kai was enduring immense pain; however, Che Kong, who had been struck by the Soul Rending Thorn, was suffering from excruciating pain. The moment his Soul was pierced, his facial features contorted and his eyes lost focus as he howled like a wild beast.

As these two figures, one small and the other large, clashed, they both became sluggish for a moment and roared in agony.

Yang Kai had quite a lot of experience dealing with this kind of pain though, so he managed to steady himself faster and viciously swiped Che Kong away with his claw.

The violent force of a 70,000-metre Ancient Dragon burst forth, and even a Territory Lord as strong as Che Kong was unable to withstand it when he was not protecting himself. With numerous bones cracking, and his Black Ink Strength becoming a mess, his gigantic figure was sent flying away like an arrow as he sprayed out black blood while tumbling through the void.

Yang Kai ignored his own injuries and continued forward. Even though Che Kong’s spear was still stuck in his belly, and he couldn’t move around agilely being a 70,000-metre Dragon, he still manipulated Space Principles and appeared right in front of the High-Rank Black Ink Nest the moment he sent Che Kong flying.

This Black Ink Nest was much larger than any of the Mid-Rank Black Ink Nests Yang Kai had seen, and it had been in the Royal City for countless years. Over the years, it continuously produced Black Ink Strength and nurtured innumerable Black Ink Clansmen.

It was the very foundation of the Black Ink Clan in the Great Evolution Theatre.

Without delay, Yang Kai swept his Dragon Tail across the High-Rank Black Ink Nest, causing it to be smashed to the ground.

All the Black Ink Clansmen within the Black Ink Nest turned to mist following Yang Kai’s powerful attack. These Black Ink Clansmen were not powerful to begin with. The reason they even stayed inside the Black Ink Nest was to feed resources into the Black Ink Pool so that the Royal Lord would always have enough Black Ink Strength to draw from. How were they supposed to block Yang Kai’s attack?

It wasn’t until this moment that Che Kong stabilized himself. Enduring the sharp pain in his head, he lifted his gaze just in time to see the High-Rank Black Ink Nest collapsing to the ground.

He was dumbfounded. The High-Rank Black Ink Nest had been destroyed. He couldn’t believe his own eyes.

Only three breaths of time had passed from the time he struck out at Yang Kai to the destruction of the High-Rank Black Ink Nest. Despite the short amount of time, it was enough to undermine the very survival of the entire Black Ink Clan in this Theatre.

Che Kong’s heart sank. It was not an exaggeration to say this was the end of the world for them.

When Yang Kai was destroying the Mid-Rank Black Ink Nests earlier, even though Che Kong was furious, he wasn’t in a state of despair. That was because the Royal Lord was still fighting against the Old Ancestor, and they also had the new Ninth-Order Black Ink Disciple. They still had a chance to repel the Humans.

But now, the High-Rank Black Ink Nest had been destroyed. All their hopes were shattered following the destruction of this Black Ink Nest and Che Kong felt cold all over his body.

At this moment, he regretted his decision. He shouldn’t have moved away from the High-Rank Black Ink Nest no matter what.

Somewhere on the battlefield, the Royal Lord could be heard roaring in a heart-wrenching voice, “Che Kong!”

His Black Ink Nest had been destroyed. Although there were 20 Territory Lords who stayed back in the Royal City, they were unable to protect his Black Ink Nest.

[Wastes! Every last one of them!]

At that instant, the Royal Lord had the urge to leave the battlefield and kill Che Kong and the other Territory Lords who stayed back in the Royal City to vent his fury; however, he was unable to do so. The moment his Black Ink Nest was smashed to the ground, he was no longer able to draw energy from it.

Although he wasn’t in peak condition from the start, he could still fight against Old Ancestor Xiao Xiao with the help of his Black Ink Nest. Now that his Black Ink Nest was gone for good though, how was he supposed to deal with Old Ancestor Xiao Xiao?

Upon realising that her opponent’s aura had plunged, Old Ancestor Xiao Xiao knew that it was a chance she couldn’t afford to miss. She exerted more force with her attacks and bellowed, “Suffer death, Mo Zhao!”

Mo Zhao was the name of this Royal Lord.

Those from the Great Evolution Army were not aware of this Royal Lord’s name, but having fought against this opponent for so many years, Old Ancestor Xiao Xiao certainly knew his name. During their exchanges of moves in the past, they occasionally engaged in some small talk, and that was when they learned each other’s names.

It seemed that a lot of Royal Lords had the surname Mo. So far, around 70% of the Royal Lords’ names that the Humans were aware of shared the same surname.

On the other hand, the Territory Lords had all sorts of strange names. The Humans had always wondered if those Territory Lords would change their names once they became Royal Lords one day.

Silavin: OG title – High-Rank Black Ink Nest Collapses