~ Wind and Cloud Mountain Pass ~
"Shore up the defenses on the front gates! Bring the forward line back in a slow retreat!" A severely injured 8th rank open heaven relaying orders, said as he coughed up blood blocking the advanced direct attacks of 5 Territory Lords.
With the order made the lines began to shift as his adjutant spread the message to the other commanders while dealing with a few Feudal lords herself. The battlefield was in chaos…
"Why the hell are there so many!? It's like they launched a thousand times as many troops."
"And we still have that other gigantic freak on the way!"
"This might be the end of the line for all of us…"
"It'll take a miracle to turn this situation around… If the Old Ancestor can hold out long enough for reinforcements…"
Wind and Cloud Old Ancestor was currently fighting an intense battle with 3 royal lords and the occasional interruption from the bored yet stupidly brave territory lords. The old man and his Ox had suffered innumerable injuries yet, despite all of the injuries he suffered… He fought on.
"What is with this human!? Just die already!"
"Kill the humans! Kill them all!"
"Huh? What was that sound just now?"
The Old Ancestor seeing a chance in the brief pause the Royal Lords had just now, spoke. "FEAR NOT! REINFORCEMENTS WILL ARRIVE IN TIME! WE WILL NOT FALL HERE! WE WILL NOT DISHONOR OUR ANCESTORS ANY FURTHER!" He shouted a war cry, summoning the remainder of his strength to the forefront. "Let the fury of the winds and clouds, instill fear into the enemy! Typhoon!"
A gigantic storming whirl of wind swept away millions of ink clan soldiers, causing mass havoc among the ink clan's army. One of the Royal Lords, having been a recently established and unstable one at best, his cultivation fell to that of a Territory Lord as the winds stripped his ink force away.
"OLD ANCESTOR!!!!!" A furious commander roared, fearing the worst. His fury sent the territory lords besieging him hurtling away. "GO TO KILL THE ENEMY! KILL THE INK CLAN! SLAUGHTER THEM ALL!"
"Ah, now that's an idea I can get behind. CHAIN DRAGON LIGHTNING!"
In that moment, the battlefield filled with brilliant arcing bolts of lightning. Each obliterating any ink clan they touched, and purifying the ink force corrupting the human race cultivators.
"Now, then… Time to use this a few more times across the other battlefields." I raised my arms and sent out over a hundred separate bolts. Each carried my voice along with them. "I have grown, and made my return to this horrible place. You may rest easy now, I'll annihilate these disgusting foes in your stead." Is what was carried throughout each of the designated battlefields. "Phew, a shame I wasn't sooner… But I did destroy all of them before things got too out of hand… Still, how the hell did they create so many high powered enemies in such a short time?" I wondered as I flew over to the Old Ancestor.
"Huh? You're that one we heard rumors about, right?" Wind and Cloud Old Ancestor asked, spitting up blood. His Dragon scale token exploded from overuse right around the time I began restoring his strength. "Oh my, that feels a whole lot better… Thanks for coming." He chuckled with a weak smile.
"Not a problem. I only wish I could have arrived sooner. Even with my current strength, I can't revive this many people…" I said with a difficult smile.
"Don't blame yourself young man, you did what you could. We will immortalize their honor, and selflessness upon our monuments."
"That's for the best…"
"In the meantime, would you mind taking care of that freakish behemoth of a giant over there? That bastard got a heavy blow on me earlier, I'm surprised I'm alive."
"Yeah, I'm going to use him and the other ones as fuel for my breakthrough. You don't mind, do you?"
"No, no, he's all yours."
"Good. I've been wanting a decent target for a while now. You go ahead and begin clean up operations. Reinforcements with relief supplies will be arriving shortly." I said, flying off cracking my knuckles as I sped away.
"Dear me… Such speed, wait… Breakthrough? Surely he can't mean that he's not a 9th rank open heaven yet…" Wind and Cloud's face twisted in confusion as everything he ever knew about strength was flipped on its head. "If he's this strong now… Just what kind of freakish strength will he possess after he breaks through to the 9th rank…"
"Old Ancestor, are you alright? Do you need assistance?"
"No, I'm fine, In fact I'm almost at full strength again. That young man really has power I can't comprehend. And he isn't even a 9th rank yet…"
"Huh? Surely that's not possible. We all saw that display of might. His lightning obliterated everything in sight. The ink clan didn't stand a chance in the presence of that lightning. It seems to have a greater effect on them than the light of purification we've been using all this time."
"Nope, I'm confident he's an 8th rank. But it feels so much stronger… But since you're curious, why not ask him later. Anyway, let us return first. He said that reinforcements would be coming soon, with some much needed relief supplies in tow as well."
"That is most excellent news to hear, Old Ancestor…"
"Ope, I gotcha. You must be exhausted having fought so many territory lords while protecting the others."
"Heh heh, sorry about this… I am quite tired. Hearing there was relief on the way caused this particular reaction though."
"Don't worry about it. I'd have had to walk back if that young man didn't restore my strength… Seriously, Yang Kai has one hell of a son."
"His name was Yang Leiji, right?"
"I think so…"
The two arrived back to the inner parts of the Mountain Pass and began whatever duties needed to be taken care of. Ranging from clearing the battlefield to noting the merits during this battle.
Meanwhile, I met face to face with the ink giant spirit god. This time, they were well aware of their surroundings and clearly not going to be pushed around as easily as a dead corpse. At least, that's what he thought… He grossly underestimates me… A mistake he would pay dearly for.