Ink's Nemesis

"Martial Grandpa Ding… I don't dare call myself the nemesis of the Ink Clan. That title should be given to the Light of Purification… Rather, its original form." I said, shaking my head and shrugging. 

"Oh? Original form? What does Leiji mean by that?" Ding Yao asked curiously. 

"The First Light of course. The Light of Purification is simply an imitation of the power. And everyone knows that borrowed strength is nothing compared to the original." I explained. "So if we are speaking practically I wouldn't dare put myself in first or second on that list. Perhaps third, but that would be the absolute maximum. At least that's how I see it." I added. 

"How did you gather that the Light of Purification is… Oh… That makes a lot of sense actually." Ding Yao said, in a rare moment of deep thought. "The First Light gave birth to the Ancient Divine Spirits and those two freakish Twins. This Light of Purification is simply using an incomplete power." He added. 

"Leiji, you shouldn't discount yourself as third. There is one thing you have above both of these other nemesis. Put simply, you are alive and able to take action significantly and effectively. You require no draw on resources for your lightning other than your own self. This already puts you above the Light of Purification. As for the first place…" Yang Kai explained. 

"Father, I must stop you there. No matter how strong I get with the Open Heaven Method.. There is absolutely no way for me to exceed an infinite, endless, eternal evil. I might be able to strike enough fear to tilt the scales heavily in our favor. But beyond that, only the First Light has the right to claim the number one nemesis spot." I said, putting my hand out and shaking my head. "Unless by some freak accident I can break through to a theoretical 10th rank Open Heaven and beyond Divine rank Ancient Divine Spirit. There is no other way for me to even approach the power that Ink holds." I explained. 

"It would be nice if we could find a way to bring the Twins here. They would certainly change the flow of this Megaannum War. That would certainly help the situation quite significantly." A 5th rank sighed. 

"I disagree. While it would be beneficial for the war. We would likely destroy a sizable portion of the 3000 Worlds. And given that you idiots concealed this War from everyone. We would need one hell of a good reason why those two moved. And we would be forced to move so many people from their homes permanently. The secret of the War would very quickly be found out." I said, quickly shutting the idea down. 

"Martial Grandson is right. Such a good thing can not happen. It would be far too difficult to explain. The benefit does not outweigh the loss. So we can not do this. I personally have also thought about revealing the secret. This battle is too taxing and we need more warriors and more resources. 4th ranks could easily manage a mining operation. And low ranks, while weak, are still open heavens realms and therefore can mine resources." Ding Yao explained. Detailing some of the pains in his own heart. 

"As it stands now, the vast majority of the Human Race's potential man power is just idle. Or worse yet, fighting itself and therefore wasting precious resources. Remember every same element 5th rank material wasted, is a future 7th rank master will never see in this world. No matter how many ways one can grow the resources. The number is still 1 less every time. Money is fungible, but resources are not." I explained. 

"Anyways, all of the 5th ranks can receive their pure world force now. I must have a conversation in private with my son. Leiji, go ahead and give them the energy they need to reach 6th rank. You'll have a chance to recover whatever energy you lost from this exchange." Yang Kai said. 

"Understood father, I'll distribute it all out now." I said. Sending beams of astonishingly pure World Force to the 4th and 5th ranks. Each of them quickly took it and began their breakthrough preparations. And I put my artifacts back on. 

~~A little off to the side~~

Ding Yao, Yang Kai, Bai Yi, Feng Ying and myself were all hovering in the void. "Martial Uncle Ding, my son needs to go to No-Return Pass the moment we return." Yang Kai said, being blunt. 

"Indeed, My phoenix source has completely awoken. But it is incredibly weak. And… I can't even direct any energy to it right now. I'm worried that I will have a hard time breaking through if I can not let it grow. It rose all the way to the barrier before being 1st rank equivalent." I said. 

"Oh? So it seems this matter is far more serious than previously thought… Good, I'll make sure you get that chance. You can fight without an anxious heart. I won't let the others keep you from it. Even if I have to fight those phoenix myself." Ding Yao said. 

"Uhm, if possible. If you have to make prior contact to the Phoenix Clan… Could you maybe not tell them my gender…" I said, a little timidly. 

"Oh? Why is that?" Ding Yao asked, confused. 

"They are a Matriarchal Clan. So… me being a male phoenix combined with the birth rate imbalance I had heard about… I'd prefer to not have any surprises upon arrival." I said, scratching my cheek nervously. 

"Ahahaha! You're afraid they are gonna eat you up? Ahahaha, you should take that chance to get yourself some really beautiful women then." Ding Yao laughed. 

"I don't think I'll be able to make it through the pass without at bare minimum the Phoenix Empress finding out. And at worst be forced to marry." I said. "I just would prefer to deal with that situation after I get myself accustomed to that form. I was able to become a dragon quite easily. But the Phoenix side is a bit… Slow on that." I added. 

"Seems you're being practical about this then. But why is one formed and not the other?" Ding Yao asked. 

"I'm not sure, but I think it might have been heavily influenced by my fathers presence. I lived inside his small universe after all. The Dragon Qi was literally every." I said.